Air India London Flight Cancelled Due To Technical Glitch On Same Route As AI-171 Which Crashed Last Week
An Air India flight scheduled to operate the first London-bound service from Ahmedabad since last week’s fatal crash was cancelled on Tuesday due to a technical fault, marking the fourth such incident involving the airline’s aircraft in just 24 hours. The string of malfunctions has intensified safety concerns in the shadow of the recent air disaster.
The flight, AI-159, was scheduled to depart for London from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1:10 pm. The airline confirmed the cancellation was due to a technical snag and said affected passengers would be issued a refund. The aircraft scheduled for the service was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, the same model as the one that crashed.
This incident is the latest in a worrying series of technical issues for the airline. Earlier Today, an Air India flight (AI-180) from San Francisco to Mumbai developed an engine snag during a stopover in Kolkata, forcing passengers to deplane. On Monday, another Air India Dreamliner (AI-315) from Hong Kong to Delhi had to turn back mid-air due to a suspected technical fault. The same day, an Air India Express flight from Delhi to Ranchi was also diverted back to the capital after a snag was detected.
These events come as the nation grapples with the aftermath of the crash of flight AI-171 on June 12. The London-bound Dreamliner crashed into a medical college hostel complex in Ahmedabad moments after takeoff, killing all 241 passengers and crew, along with at least 33 people on the ground. There was only one survivor from the flight.
In response to the crash, India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has ordered comprehensive, one-time safety checks on Air India’s entire fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft. The airline had earlier warned of potential delays as these inspections are being carried out. According to the latest reports, inspections on 22 of the 33 remaining Dreamliners have been completed, with sources stating that “nothing alarming” has been found so far.
Meanwhile, the investigation into the AI-171 crash is proceeding with urgency. Both “black boxes” – the Cockpit Voice Recorder and the Flight Data Recorder – have been recovered from the wreckage and are being analyzed by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), with assistance from teams from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Boeing.
