Air India Begins Rebuilding International Schedule, Adds Ahmedabad–Heathrow

Air India is gradually restoring international capacity following a six-week schedule reduction implemented in the wake of the fatal crash of Flight AI 171 in June.

The carrier scaled back long-haul service to conduct enhanced inspections of its Boeing 787 fleet and adjust to extended flight times caused by regional airspace closures. Partial resumptions will begin in August, with full restoration planned for October.

Among the changes, a new route will connect Ahmedabad with London Heathrow three times per week from Aug. 1 to Sept. 30. This will replace Air India’s current 5X-weekly service to London Gatwick from the same city.

Additional reinstatements include a return to 24X-weekly service on the New Delhi–London Heathrow route from July 16, up from 22. From Aug. 1, New Delhi–Zurich will increase to 5X-weekly and New Delhi–Tokyo Haneda will return to daily service. New Delhi–Amsterdam resumes daily flights from Aug. 1, while New Delhi–Seoul Incheon will be fully restored to 5X-weekly by Sept. 1. Air India has also resumed flights to Nairobi, although the route will be suspended again throughout September.

Several other routes will also remain reduced or suspended through September. These include New Delhi–Paris Charles de Gaulle, cut to 7X-weekly flights from 12, effective Aug. 1; New Delhi–Milan, reduced from four to 3X-weekly flights starting July 16; and Bengaluru–London Heathrow will drop from six to 4X-weekly from Aug. 1.

In North America, service to Toronto, a major gateway for Indian diaspora traffic, is currently down from 13 to 7X-weekly flights. New Delhi–Chicago has been cut from daily service to four flights per week in August, while New Delhi–San Francisco has been scaled back from 10 to 7X-weekly flights. New Delhi–Vancouver is also operating 4X-weekly instead of the previous seven.

Additionally, flights to both New York-area airports have also been reduced. New Delhi–New York JFK has dropped to 6X-weekly from daily, while the Newark Liberty route now operates 4X-weekly, down from five. Mumbai–JFK, meanwhile, is reduced from seven to 6X-weekly flights from Aug. 1. New Delhi–Washington Dulles remains at 3X-weekly, down from five.

In the Asia-Pacific region, the New Delhi–Melbourne and New Delhi–Sydney routes continue at 5X-weekly flights instead of daily, while Singapore services from Bengaluru and Pune remain suspended.

The schedule reductions were enacted following a fatal crash on June 12 involving a 787-8 shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.

Preliminary investigation findings released by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau revealed that one of the pilots inadvertently cut fuel to both engines just after liftoff, causing the aircraft to lose thrust and crash within seconds.

According to data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser, Air India is currently operating about 232,000 international seats across 68 routes, compared with 267,000 seats and 71 routes in the week before the crash of Flight AI 171.