Air India cancelled six international flights operated by Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners on Tuesday, following heightened scrutiny of the aircraft model after a devastating crash in Ahmedabad on June 12.
The affected flights were AI 915 (Delhi-Dubai), AI 153 (Delhi-Vienna), AI 143 (Delhi-Paris), AI 159 (Ahmedabad-London), AI 133 (Bengaluru-London), and AI 170 (London-Amritsar).
Additionally, a technical issue forced a Dreamliner operating as AI 315 to return to Hong Kong en route to Delhi.
Another Air India flight, San Francisco-Mumbai, encountered a technical snag during a scheduled stop in Kolkata, leading to the deboarding of all passengers.
Two other Dreamliners, operated by Lufthansa and British Airways, flying from Frankfurt and London to Hyderabad and Chennai respectively, were also forced to return to their origin airports due to technical issues.
Air India attributed the cancellation of AI 143 to a problem identified during pre-flight checks, which could not be resolved in time to comply with night-time operational restrictions at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport.
The cancellation of the Ahmedabad-London Gatwick service (AI 159) was due to aircraft unavailability caused by airspace restrictions and additional precautionary maintenance checks, though no technical issues were reported with the scheduled aircraft.
The string of cancellations and mid-air returns has raised concerns, particularly in the wake of the tragic crash of Air India’s AI 171, an Ahmedabad-London Gatwick service, last week.
The flight crashed less than 40 seconds after take-off, striking a college hostel 2 km from the airport and erupting into flames.
Of the 242 people on board, 241 perished, with a British-Indian man in seat 11A as the sole survivor. At least 33 ground fatalities were reported, marking the incident as one of India’s deadliest aviation disasters. Air India retired the AI 171 call sign in honour of the victims.
Preliminary analysis suggests the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) deployed during the AI 171 crash, indicating a possible dual-engine failure or a critical electronic/hydraulic system malfunction.
The flight data and voice recorders have been recovered, but a full explanation may take months.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has mandated comprehensive maintenance checks on all Boeing 787-8/9 variants with GEnx engines, including take-off parameter assessments, electronic engine control tests, and fuel system evaluations.
Air India currently operates 33 Boeing 787s, while rival IndiGo operates one, according to Flightradar24. The recent incidents have intensified focus on the Dreamliner’s reliability and safety protocols.
Source: NDTV