Air India To Cut 15% Of International Flights Till Mid-July Amid Rigorous Safety Checks, Airspace Restrictions

Air India said on Wednesday that it will temporarily reduce its international services on widebody aircraft, that mostly connects Europe and North America, by 15%. The Tata Group airline cited a combination of technical snags, airspace restrictions in West Asia and extended safety checks.

"The cuts will be implemented between now and June 20 and will continue thereafter until at least mid-July," the carrier said in a statement. "The move will ensure stability of our operations, better efficiency and minimise inconvenience to passengers. This also effectively adds to our reserve aircraft availability to take care of any unplanned disruptions."

As a matter of precaution, Air India said it will also undertake enhanced safety checks on its Boeing 777 fleet.

Air India has cancelled 83 flights, including both Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 aircraft, since the plane crash in Ahmedabad on June 12 that killed at least 270 people in one of India's deadliest aviation accidents in decades. This was also the first time a Boeing 787 Dreamliner was involved in a crash anywhere in the world.

At least two Dreamliners — Toronto-Delhi AI 188 and Dubai to Delhi A1 996 — flights have been cancelled in the past 24 hours due technical glitches and extended safety inspection.

"The curtailments are a painful measure to take but are necessary following a devastating event which we are still working through and an unusual combination of external event," an Air India spokesperson said, adding that passengers will be offered a choice to either reschedule their travel without any cost or to be given full refund.

The investigating authorities are continuing their efforts to find out the reasons for the crash. Out of its fleet of 33 Dreamliners, Air India said that inspections have been completed on 26 and these have been cleared for service after India’s aviation regulator DGCA ordered enhanced pre-flight checks. Inspection of the remainder will be complete in the coming days.

In a relief for Air India, DGCA said that it had found no major safety flaws in the airline’s Dreamliner fleet but warned of persistent maintenance shortcomings and coordination lapses that could undermine reliability.

The wide-body jets form the backbone of Air India’s long-haul network, operating on key routes across Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia. Ensuring the aircraft remain operationally sound will be critical to the airline's turnaround strategy under the Tata Group. "We will come out stronger through this tragic incident and reestablish the confidence of our passengers and all stakeholders in our services, at the earliest," it said.