Air India has cancelled at least eight international Boeing Dreamliner flights following the crash that k!lled 270 people.
The firm’s Gatwick-bound plane carrying 242 passengers crashed just moments after take-off from Ahmedabad Airport in the northwestern Indian state of Gujarat.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner careened back down to earth in the densely populated Meghani area of the city just minutes after leaving the runway around 1.40pm local time (8.10am BST) last Thursday.
Now planes earmarked to travel for Air India between Paris, Vienna, and Dubai have been called off and authorities have also begun inspecting Air India’s entire fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners, Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said.
Factors involved include unavailability of aircraft, technical problems, airspace restrictions and extended safety checks, the Guardian reported.
Meanwhile, another Air India flight on the same route as the plane that crashed last week has been cancelled because of ‘precautionary checks’, the airline said.
Flight AI159 was planned to depart Ahmedabad, India, at 1.10pm local time on Tuesday, and arrive at London Gatwick airport at 6.25pm BST.
Air India’s website shows the flight was initially delayed by one hour and 50 minutes but was later cancelled.
A flight from Gatwick to Amritsar, India, set to depart at 8pm BST was also axed.
The cancelled flights were scheduled to be operated by a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which is the same type of aircraft that crashed shortly after take-off at Ahmedabad last Thursday.
An Air India spokesperson said: ‘Flight AI 159 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick has been cancelled today due to the unavailability of the aircraft.
That was aid to be 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.
‘We regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers and have made alternative arrangements to fly them to their destination.’
The airline said affected passengers are being offered hotel accommodation and full refunds, or rescheduling.
