Air India cancels flight from Ahmedabad to London due to unavailability of aircraft

Days after the fatal Dreamliner crash in Gujarat, Air India’s Ahmedabad to London flight AI159 was cancelled on Tuesday due to unavailabilty of aircraft.

"Flight AI159 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick has been cancelled today due to the unavailability of the aircraft, resulting from airspace restrictions and additional precautionary checks, leading to longer than usual turnaround of aircraft, and not due to any technical snag as claimed," Air India said in a statement.

"We regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers and have made alternative arrangements to fly them to their destination. We are providing hotel accommodation and also offering full refunds on cancellations or complimentary rescheduling if opted by the passengers. Consequently, flight AI170 from London Gatwick to Amritsar on 17th June stands cancelled," the statement added.


The flight, scheduled to depart at 1.10 PM IST from Sardar Vallabhbhai International Airport to London Gatwick Airport, was cancelled, as per Flightradar24.

Following the recent crash of its Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which claimed 241 lives onboard, Air India discontinued the use of flight number ‘AI 171’. The aircraft, which crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on its way to London Gatwick, was operating as AI 171.

The Ahmedabad–London Gatwick flight was set to operate under the new number AI 159, today, for the first time.

Also Read: Delhi-bound IndiGo flight receives bomb threat; makes emergency landing in Nagpur

Of late, Air India operations were disrupted on multiple international routes. The airline faced technical issues on two wide-body aircraft in the last two days.

In Kolkata, Flight AI180, a Boeing 777-200LR, landed as scheduled at 00:45 hours. However, a technical snag in the left engine delayed its next departure. Engineers began inspections soon after the issue was flagged on the ground.

Also Read: Air India's Boeing 777-200LR flight from San Francisco to Mumbai suffers technical snag; passengers deplaned in Kolkata

Meanwhile on Monday, a Delhi-bound Air India Dreamliner (Boeing 787-8) operating from Hong Kong was forced to return to the departure airport. The pilot in command suspected a technical problem shortly after takeoff and opted to turn back as a precautionary measure.