Air India Restores International Flights in Stages After Safety Review

Following a “Safety Pause” implemented after the June 12 flight AI171 incident, Air India has begun a phased restoration of its international flights. The airline previously adjusted its flight operations by suspending or decreasing frequencies on various routes. This allowed for crucial safety inspections of its Boeing 787 aircraft and enabled adjustments to flight paths due to airspace closures. The partial resumption begins on August 1, with full operations expected by October 1. Several routes will experience service enhancements or increased frequencies. Key changes involve the full restoration of 24 weekly flights on the Delhi-London (Heathrow) route from July 16. Delhi-Zurich will see an increase from 4 to 5 weekly flights from August 1. The Delhi-Tokyo (Haneda) and Delhi-Seoul (Incheon) routes will have their full weekly frequencies reinstated by August and September, respectively. The Delhi-Amsterdam route will return to 7 flights per week from August 1. A new route between Ahmedabad and London (Heathrow) will operate three times per week, replacing the existing five-times-weekly Gatwick service. Delhi-Nairobi services will operate three times a week until August 31, with a temporary suspension from September 1 to September 30. Despite these changes, over 15 routes will remain at reduced frequencies until the end of September, including flights between Bengaluru-London (Heathrow), Delhi-Paris, Delhi-Milan, Delhi-Copenhagen, Delhi-Vienna, and Amritsar-Birmingham. Several North American routes will also continue with reduced frequencies. The flights between Delhi-Melbourne and Delhi-Sydney continue at 5x weekly. Four international routes, including Amritsar-London (Gatwick), Goa (Mopa)-London (Gatwick), Bengaluru-Singapore, and Pune-Singapore, will remain suspended until September 30. Air India is actively contacting affected passengers to facilitate rebooking or provide full refunds.