NEW DELHI (Diya TV) — Air India has announced a temporary 15% reduction in its long-haul international operations, affecting major U.S., Canadian, European, and Asia-Pacific routes starting June 21. The move comes in the wake of increased safety inspections following the deadly crash of Flight AI171 on June 12 and ongoing airspace disruptions in the Middle East.
The Tata Group-owned airline confirmed that several high-demand routes to North America are among the most significantly affected. Flights between Delhi and San Francisco will drop from ten to seven per week, Delhi–Chicago will reduce from seven to three, and Delhi–Washington Dulles will fall from five to three. Additionally, Delhi–Toronto services are being halved from 13 to seven, while Delhi–Vancouver will now operate five times a week instead of seven.
In Europe, Air India is scaling back operations on routes such as Delhi–London (Heathrow), Paris, Milan, and Amsterdam. Suspensions include Delhi–Nairobi, Amritsar–London (Gatwick), and Goa (Mopa)–London (Gatwick). Routes to Australia, Japan, and South Korea are also seeing reduced frequencies. These changes will remain in effect until at least July 15.
“This decision helps us maintain operational resilience and reduce the risk of last-minute disruptions,” Air India said in a June 18 statement. “The revised schedule effectively increases our reserve aircraft availability to handle any unplanned issues.”
According to the airline, multiple factors influenced the schedule cutbacks. These include enhanced pre-flight safety checks, new curfews at several European and East Asian airports, and rerouting due to airspace closures in the Middle East. Together, these have increased turnaround times and added pressure on fleet and crew availability.
The decision follows the tragic crash of Air India Flight AI171 near Ahmedabad, which claimed 241 lives. Investigators are still probing the cause, with the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) leading the inquiry. Oversight is being provided by India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), with technical support from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Boeing, and GE Aerospace.
In response to the crash, the DGCA ordered urgent safety checks on Air India’s fleet of 33 Boeing 787 Dreamliners. As of June 19, only 26 of those aircraft had cleared inspections and returned to service. Similar precautionary checks are underway for the airline’s Boeing 777 aircraft as well.
Air India has already canceled 83 international flights over the past week, citing not only the enhanced engineering checks but also limited crew availability. To minimize further disruption, the airline is proactively contacting affected passengers to offer alternative flight options, free rescheduling, or full refunds.
“We sincerely apologize to our passengers and are committed to minimizing inconvenience,” Air India said. Updated flight schedules are being published progressively on the airline’s website, mobile app, and through its customer service channels.
The airline emphasized that the cuts are temporary and aimed at restoring schedule stability amid extraordinary circumstances. The goal, it added, is to resume full international operations once safety inspections are completed and flight conditions normalize.
