Air India cancelled a total of 66 flights operating with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft following the fatal crash of its AI171 flight on June 12, according to an official press release from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in India.
No major safety concerns in the Boeing fleet
The Indian civil aviation regulator published a briefing on the steps being taken following the crash, including the safety inspection of Air India’s fleet. DGCA said that it had “held a high-level meeting “ with senior executives of Air India Ltd. and Air India Express to review its operations and to ensure the safety compliance of the airline. The meeting follows the crash of flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London on June 12, which killed at least 270 people, including 241 of the 242 people onboard. The flight was being operated with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
In the briefing, the regulator said that it had conducted a surveillance of Air India’s Boeing 787 fleet. The surveillance did not flag any major safety concerns. Despite this, multiple Boeing 787 flights were cancelled by the airline due to various reasons.
DGCA said:
“The aircraft and associated maintenance systems were found to be compliant with existing safety standards.”
Air India, in a statement on June 14, had said that it was “completing the one-time safety checks directed by the Indian aviation regulator, DGCA.”
It had said:
“These checks are being carried out on the Boeing 787 fleet as they return to India, before being cleared for their next operations. Air India has completed such checks on nine of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft and is on track to complete this process for the remaining 24 aircraft within the timeline provided by the regulator. Some of these checks could lead to higher turnaround times and potential delays on certain long-haul routes, especially those to airports with operating curfews. Customers will be duly notified about any delays.”
DGCA said that its “Enhances Safety Inspection” mandate was being made applicable to the airline’s entire Boeing 787-8/9 fleet, which includes 33 aircraft. Four out of these 33 aircraft were undergoing major checks, different maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities.
As of 3 p.m. local time on June 17, 2025, it had completed checks of 24 with plans for completing two more aircraft checks on the day. Another check was scheduled for June 18. The remaining six aircraft included two aircraft, which were then grounded at Delhi. The regulator will carry out the checks “ post-declaration of serviceability and prior to their return to service,” it said.
The remaining four aircraft currently under MRO will be checked as per the mandate before being released from the hangars.
Operational issues flagged
The Indian civil aviation regulator flagged some major operational issues with the airline. DGCA highlighted the “recent maintenance-related” issues reported by Air India as a matter of concern.
DGCA said:
“The airline was advised to strengthen internal coordination across engineering, operations, ground handling units and ensure availability of adequate spares to mitigate passenger delays resulting from such issues and strictly adhere to regulations.”
As per DGCA’s review of the airline’s operational data, between June 12 and June 17 (until 6 p.m. local time), the airline had cancelled 83 flights, which included 66 flights operated with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
Air India’s Ahmedabad-London Gatwick flight, which is now numbered as flight AI159, was cancelled on Tuesday. The airline cited “unavailability of aircraft” due to airspace restrictions and “additional precautionary checks” as reasons for the flight cancellation.
The cancellations also included flight AI 315 from Hong Kong to Delhi. The flight was forced to take a U-turn mid-flight after a technical issue was detected. In another instance, flight AI 180 on the San Francisco-Mumbai route was grounded in Kolkata due to a technical glitch.
International routes to cities such as London, Paris, Dubai and Vienna have been affected by these cancellations owing to aircraft unavailability due to extended safety checks, airspace restrictions and technical issues.
The DGCA, in its press release, said that it had also assessed the impact of recent airspace closures, in particular, the airspace over Iran. The closures have resulted in flights being diverted, delayed or cancelled. They have asked the airline to facilitate proper communication with passengers.
In terms of its operations, DGCA recommended:
“The regulator recommended the implementation of a more systematic and real-time defect reporting mechanism to ensure that operational and safety-critical departments receive timely updates. This is expected to enhance overall decision-making and reduce downstream disruptions.”
Air India and Air India Express currently operate over 1,000 flights daily through domestic and international routes.
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