Air India has cancelled flight AI 159 from Ahmedabad to London. The flight, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, was initially reported to have faced a technical snag. However, the airline has clarified that it was cancelled as it was unavailable.
The cancelled service operates on the same route as the previous Air India flight that crashed on Thursday last week, resulting in the deaths of 241 passengers. Flight AI 171 was also a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.
"Flight AI 159 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick has been cancelled today due to the unavailability of the aircraft, resulting from airspace restrictions and additional precautionary checks, leading to longer than usual turnaround of aircraft, and not due to any technical snag as claimed," an Air India spokesperson said.
"We regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers and have made alternative arrangements to fly them to their destination. We are providing hotel accommodation and also offering full refunds on cancellations or complimentary rescheduling if opted by the passengers," the airline said.
Air India did not provide further details on the nature of the operational issue or whether the route cancellation was temporary.
In response to the crash of Air India flight AI 171, the government has formed a high-level multi-disciplinary committee to investigate the incident.
Both black boxes have been recovered from the crash site, which will be crucial in determining the cause of the incident.
The aircraft had taken off at 1:38 p.m., but minutes later, crashed into BJ Medical College hostel mess, located 5 km from the airport, where over 100 students had gathered for lunch. The crash resulted in a massive explosion, with a towering plume of smoke visible from a distance. It resulted in the death of 241 out of 242 passenger onboard, along with multiple causalities on ground.
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