Air India Faces New Wave of Flight Disruptions After Ahmedabad Plane Crash

Air India continues to face severe operational challenges, with seven international flights cancelled on Tuesday and technical issues forcing a San Francisco-Mumbai service to terminate early during a scheduled stopover in Kolkata. 

The disruptions add to the mounting pressure on the Tata Group-owned airline, which is grappling with its biggest crisis since the fatal Ahmedabad crash on June 12 that killed over 270 people.

Image Source: JetArena on X

According to Air India, six of Tuesday’s cancellations involved its Dreamliner fleet, which remains under enhanced safety checks ordered by India’s aviation regulator, DGCA. 

The cancelled routes included Delhi-Paris, Bengaluru-London, London-Amritsar, Delhi-Vienna, Delhi-Dubai, and Mumbai-San Francisco. The Ahmedabad-London Gatwick service, which resumed briefly under a new flight code after the crash, was also cancelled due to aircraft unavailability.

The airline clarified that the Delhi-Paris flight was called off after pre-flight checks identified technical concerns, while the Gatwick cancellation was unrelated to technical faults. Affected passengers were offered hotel accommodation, rescheduling options, or full refunds.

Separately, a San Francisco-Mumbai flight carrying 211 passengers was forced to halt in Kolkata after a technical issue was detected during routine post-landing checks. 

The Boeing 777-200 LR, rerouted through Kolkata due to ongoing regional airspace closures linked to the Israel-Iran conflict, faced an engine snag that could not be resolved despite hours of on-ground work. 

Passengers were eventually deboarded after a prolonged delay, with some opting for hotel accommodations while others sought alternative flights.

The operational turmoil follows the deadly crash in Ahmedabad, which has triggered heightened regulatory oversight of Air India’s fleet. 

The crisis comes at a critical moment for the airline’s owner Tata Group, which has been working to turn around the national carrier since acquiring it three-and-a-half years ago.