Air India partially restores key flights paused after fatal Ahmedabad crash: What routes stay suspended?
Partial restoration after Boeing 787 checks, airspace issues after fatal crash last month
Dubai: Air India has begun restoring several international routes that were temporarily suspended following the June 12 crash of flight AI171 in Ahmedabad.
The partial resumption comes after the airline’s self-imposed “Safety Pause” to carry out additional checks on its Boeing 787 aircraft and navigate extended flight durations caused by airspace closures over Pakistan and parts of the Middle East.
From August 1, selected flights will resume, with full restoration across the international network expected by October 1, 2025, the airline confirmed in a statement Monday.
New route, frequency updates
A notable change includes a new 3x weekly service from Ahmedabad to London Heathrow, operating between August 1 and September 30. This will temporarily replace the existing 5x weekly Ahmedabad–London Gatwick route.
Air India is also reinstating frequencies on several popular routes:
Delhi–London Heathrow: Back to 24x weekly flights from July 16
Delhi–Zurich: Upped to 5x weekly from August 1
Delhi–Tokyo Haneda: Full 7x weekly service resumes August 1
Delhi–Seoul Incheon: 5x weekly service restored from September 1
Routes with continued reductions until September
Some routes will continue operating at reduced frequencies through September, including:
Delhi–Birmingham and Delhi–Paris, among others, with service cutbacks ranging from one to several flights per week.
Delhi–New York (JFK) and Mumbai–New York (JFK) will each reduce by one flight per week from mid-July and August respectively.
North American services, including to Chicago, Toronto, Vancouver, and San Francisco, remain trimmed but may gradually ramp up in the coming months.
Air India’s Africa service to Nairobi will continue until August 31 before being suspended for the month of September.
Temporarily suspended routes
Until September 30, the following flights remain suspended:
Amritsar–London Gatwick
Goa (Mopa)–London Gatwick
Bengaluru–Singapore
Pune–Singapore
The airline stated that these suspensions are part of a phased return, and affected passengers will be contacted directly for rebooking options or full refunds.
Over 525 weekly international flights by October
Despite ongoing adjustments, Air India said it will be operating more than 525 weekly international flights across 63 destinations by the time its full schedule resumes in October.
The airline apologized for the disruption and thanked customers for their patience during the precautionary pause. The “Safety Pause” was initiated to ensure comprehensive aircraft checks and to address longer flight times due to restricted airspace — a move the airline said was in the best interest of passenger safety and operational reliability.
Sign up for the Daily Briefing
Get the latest news and updates straight to your inbox
