Various Boeing 787-operated flights of Air India were cancelled Tuesday as the enhanced safety inspections mandated by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) led to delays and non-availability of aircraft in most cases, according to sources in the know.
As per flight tracking data, at least nine Air India flights that were to be operated using the Boeing 787 aircraft have been cancelled so far on Tuesday. These include AI-143 (Delhi-Paris), AI-159 (Ahmedabad-London Gatwick), AI-915 (Delhi-Dubai), AI-153 (Delhi-Vienna), and AI-133 (Bengaluru-London). In most of these cases, as the flight from India was cancelled, it led to the cancellation of the return leg that was to be operated by the same aircraft. The number may rise further and in some cases, spill over to Wednesday.
Following the tragic crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft in Ahmedabad on Thursday, the DGCA had directed the airline to carry out additional maintenance inspections on all 33 of its 787s. The aircraft was operating a flight between Ahmedabad and London Gatwick and had 242 people on board. All but one of those on board perished in the crash. There were several casualties on the ground as well.
The enhanced checks ordered by the DGCA include a one-time pre-departure check of aircraft systems and parameters including fuel parameters monitoring and associated system, cabin air compressor and associated systems, electronic engine control system, engine fuel-driven actuator and oil system, hydraulic system serviceability, and take-off parameters. Additionally, flight control inspection was to be introduced in transit inspection till further notice. Power assurance checks were also mandated.
On Saturday, Air India had announced that the checks were being performed, and informed passengers that some of these could “lead to higher turnaround time and potential delays on certain long-haul routes, especially those to airports with operating curfews”.
On Tuesday, the carrier’s Delhi-Paris flight (AI-143) was cancelled because the “mandatory pre-flight checks identified an issue”. While the issue was “being addressed”, given that the Paris airport has a night curfew—restrictions on operations at night—the airline had to cancel the flight, Air India said. Consequently, the return flight AI-142 from Paris to Delhi was also cancelled.
On the cancellation of flight AI-159 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick, an Air India spokesperson said that it was cancelled “due to the unavailability of the aircraft, resulting from airspace restrictions (in West Asia) and additional precautionary checks, leading to longer than usual turnaround of aircraft”. There was speculation that the flight was cancelled due to a technical snag with the aircraft, but Air India denied that. Consequently, flight AI-170 from London Gatwick to Amritsar was also cancelled as the same aircraft was to operate this flight.
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Similarly, Delhi-Dubai flight (AI-915) and the return flight (AI-916) were cancelled, and so were the Bengaluru-London flight (AI-133) and its return leg (AI-132). In these cases, too, the aircraft that were to operate these flights were not available due to delays or being deployed on other sectors amid the fleet-wide enhanced checks, per sources. Air India’s Delhi-Vienna flight (AI-153) was also cancelled.
In addition to these 787-operated flights, the airline’s Mumbai-San Francisco flight (AI-179) — operated by a Boeing 777 aircraft — was also cancelled as the plane that had to operate the flight was unavailable due to technical issues. It had developed a snag during a technical halt at the Kolkata airport during its previous flight from San Francisco to Mumbai.
