Air India has cancelled a total of 84 flights, including nine scheduled for June 21, due to ongoing operational and maintenance concerns. This move comes in the wake of heightened public anxiety following the tragic Ahmedabad crash on June 12 that killed 279 people, including 38 on the ground. The airline is now conducting comprehensive safety inspections of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet.

The affected flights include four international and four domestic routes for June 21, such as Pune–Delhi, Ahmedabad–Delhi, Hyderabad–Mumbai, Chennai–Mumbai, Dubai–Chennai, Delhi–Melbourne, Melbourne–Delhi, and Dubai–Hyderabad. Another flight, Delhi–Pune, was cancelled following a bird strike.

Since the fatal incident involving Flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, Air India has cancelled 66 Dreamliner flights. The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has mandated extended safety checks, prompting the airline to cut 15% of its wide-body flight operations from June 21 through at least July 15.

Several key international routes have been temporarily suspended, including Delhi–Nairobi, Amritsar–London (Gatwick), and Goa (Mopa)–London (Gatwick). Other major routes to Toronto, Vancouver, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington, the Far East, and Australia have also been impacted.

Aviation expert Capt. Mohan Ranganathan told Reuters, “The scale of cancellations shows that Air India is taking safety seriously post-crash. However, the lack of transparency could deepen public mistrust.”

The DGCA’s inspection of 24 Dreamliner aircraft did not reveal any serious safety faults but highlighted issues like part shortages and poor coordination. Meanwhile, social media is rife with speculation, with users questioning if “maintenance” is being used as a cover term.

The June 12 crash has brought Air India’s safety protocols under intense scrutiny. The flight data recorder (FDR) has been recovered, but investigators face difficulty due to a damaged cockpit voice recorder, making it hard to determine engine performance and landing gear function at the time of the crash.

While the cancellations are part of an effort to stabilize Air India’s operations, the airline faces a significant challenge: regaining public confidence as investigations continue and debate over airline safety intensifies.

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