Air India 'goes dark' on social media, changes profile picture on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

A tragic incident unfolded today, June 12 as an Air India flight heading to London crashed just minutes after taking off from Ahmedabad airport. The aircraft was carrying 242 people, including passengers and crew. The cause of the crash is not yet known, and emergency services are on the scene. To mark the tragedy, the profile of Air India has gone dark on social media platforms. The airline has also changed its profile picture on X (formerly Twitter), Meta-owned Instagram and Facebook to a black icon. The airline has also changed the home page of its website to black and white. The home page reads: “A dedicated emergency helpline has been set up at 1800 5691 444 for Flight AI171.”

Ahmedabad plane crash: Air India issues statement

The airline has issued a statement on X (formerly Twitter). It said:

Air India confirms that flight AI171, from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, was involved in an accident today after take-off.

The flight, which departed from Ahmedabad at 1338 hrs, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft. Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals.

The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals.

We have also set up a dedicated passenger hotline number 1800 5691 444 to provide more information.

Air India is giving its full cooperation to the authorities investigating this incident.

Air India will release further information via regular updates on its X handle (https://x.com/airindia) and on http://airindia.com.

Air India Pilot calls MayDay

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed that Captain Sumeet Sabharwal commanding Flight AI-171 bound for London Gatwick made a Mayday call, adding no further response was received from the aircraft despite repeated attempts by ATC to establish contact. The plane crashed outside the airport perimeter in Meghaninagar area, sending up massive plumes of black smoke and triggering immediate emergency response operations.