Air India to progressively restore international flights stopped after June 12 crash

Air India will partially resume international flights from August 1, after the “safety pause” necessitated by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s safety checks on its Boeing 787-8 fleet following the deadly crash of AI-171 on June 12. A full restoration of flights across its global network is planned from October 1, the airline said in a press statement.

The airline also announced that it will be moving three out of its five weekly flights between Ahmedabad and London’s Gatwick airport to the British capital’s Heathrow airport instead, for a period of two months from August 1.

Between July 16 and August 1, the airline will restore seven flights to destinations such as London, Zurich, Tokyo, and Seoul. During the same period, the airline will operate 13 fewer flights to European destinations as compared to its full schedule, and 20 fewer flights to the U.S. and Canada. Destinations in Australia will continue to see four fewer flights. Some services to London and Singapore will remain suspended till September 30.

15% cut in international flights

The DGCA had ordered enhanced checks for Air India’s 33 Boeing 787 aircraft, which had led to long delays and cancellations of flights, inviting flak from passengers.

Following the DGCA’s intervention, Air India announced it was curtailing 15% of its internatIonal flights due to disruptions caused due to a combination of factors, including airspace closures over Pakistan and the Middle East. The cut was announced for a period of a month, and later extended until the end of July.

Checks of fuel control switch locks

Tuesday’s (July 15, 2025) announcement also follows last week’s interim probe report into the June 12 crash that killed 260 people. The report did not recommend any extra measures for either the aircraft type or its engines.

Air India CEO Campbell Wilson told airline employees on an internal platform that all Boeing 787s had been checked since the crash, and were found “fit-to-fly”. Since the interim report found that the lock on the switches that supply fuel to the two engines had moved or “transitioned” before both engines shut down, the airline has also started inspecting the lock feature for the fuel control switches. This exercise has been carried out for 50% of Air India’s Boeing 787 fleet.

On Monday (July 14, 2025), the DGCA ordered all airlines with Boeing aircraft to carry out this inspection by July 21.