Air India Gradually Reinstates International Flights Following Safety Assessment

After a “Safety Pause” implemented in response to the tragic AI171 incident on June 12, Air India is progressively resuming its international flight operations. This pause led to the temporary reduction or suspension of flights on several routes to allow for safety inspections of Boeing 787 aircraft and accommodate adjustments to flight paths due to regional airspace closures. The partial restoration will commence on August 1, with full operational capacity expected to be restored by October 1. Several routes will see reinstated services or increased frequencies. Significant adjustments include the full restoration of 24 weekly flights on the Delhi-London (Heathrow) route, effective July 16. The Delhi-Zurich route will increase from 4 to 5 flights per week starting August 1. The Delhi-Tokyo (Haneda) and Delhi-Seoul (Incheon) routes will have their full weekly frequencies restored by August and September, respectively. Delhi-Amsterdam will return to 7 flights per week from August 1. A new route between Ahmedabad and London (Heathrow) will operate three times weekly, substituting the current five-times-weekly Gatwick service. Additionally, Delhi-Nairobi services will operate three times a week until August 31, with a temporary suspension from September 1 to September 30. Over 15 routes will continue to operate 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. North American destinations, such as Washington, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, Vancouver, and New York (JFK and Newark), will also maintain reduced frequencies. The flights between Delhi-Melbourne and Delhi-Sydney continue at 5x weekly. Four international routes will remain suspended until September 30, including flights between Amritsar-London (Gatwick), Goa (Mopa)-London (Gatwick), Bengaluru-Singapore and Pune-Singapore. Air India is actively informing affected passengers and providing options for rebooking or full refunds.