Air India CEO and Managing Director Campbell Wilson, in a message to flyers on Thursday, said the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane, which crashed in Ahmedabad on Thursday, June 12, 2025, was "well-maintained," with both of its engines inspected in March and April this year.

Wilson said the plane had not shown any issues before the flight. "The plane was well-maintained, with its last major check in June 2023 and the next scheduled for December 2025. Its right engine was overhauled in March 2025, and the left engine was inspected in April 2025. Both the aircraft and engines were regularly monitored, showing no issues before the flight," the Air India CEO stated in his message, as reported by news agency PTI.

He also expressed "pain" over the loss of lives in the AI-171 flight, one of the worst accidents in aviation history. Air India Flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed near Ahmedabad International Airport shortly after take-off on June 12, 2025. Of the 242 occupants, only one passenger survived. Following the impact on the ground, the death toll has reached 271, as many of those who were injured have succumbed to their injuries.

"Words cannot express the pain we feel for the families and loved ones affected by this devastating event. We are fully committed to doing all we can to support the families impacted and are also working closely with authorities to understand the cause of this tragedy. Our thoughts are with everyone touched by this loss," Wilson said.

The aviation regulator DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) has stated that recent surveillance conducted on Air India’s Boeing 787 fleet did not reveal any major safety concerns. "Following the review, the DGCA has confirmed that Air India Boeing 787 fleet and maintenance processes fully meet safety standards," said Wilson.

Air India, meanwhile, has announced a "temporary reduction" in services operated by Boeing 787 and 777 aircraft, which will be effective from June 21, 2025, and last until at least July 15, 2025. The airline says the reductions arise from the decision to "voluntarily" undertake enhanced pre-flight safety checks, as well as accommodate additional flight durations arising from airspace closures in the Middle East. "The objective is to restore schedule stability and minimize last-minute inconvenience to passengers."

Routes suspended until July 15, 2025:

Delhi-Nairobi (AI961/962) – 4x weekly flights

Amritsar-London (Gatwick) (AI169/170) – 3x weekly flights

Goa (Mopa)-London (Gatwick) (AI145/146) – 3x weekly flights

Routes with reduced frequency until July 15, 2025:

North America

Delhi-Toronto: Reduced from 13x weekly to 7x weekly

Delhi-Vancouver: Reduced from 7x weekly to 5x weekly

Delhi-San Francisco: Reduced from 10x weekly to 7x weekly

Delhi-Chicago: Reduced from 7x weekly to 3x weekly

Delhi-Washington (Dulles): Reduced from 5x weekly to 3x weekly

Europe

Delhi-London (Heathrow): Reduced from 24x weekly to 22x weekly

Bengaluru-London (Heathrow): Reduced from 7x weekly to 6x weekly

Amritsar-Birmingham and Delhi-Birmingham: Reduced from 3x weekly to 2x weekly

Delhi-Paris: Reduced from 14x weekly to 12x weekly

Delhi-Milan: Reduced from 7x weekly to 4x weekly

Delhi-Copenhagen: Reduced from 5x weekly to 3x weekly

Delhi-Vienna: Reduced from 4x weekly to 3x weekly

Delhi-Amsterdam: Reduced from 7x weekly to 5x weekly

Australia

Delhi-Melbourne and Delhi-Sydney: Reduced from 7x weekly to 5x weekly

Far-East

Delhi-Tokyo (Haneda): Reduced from 7x weekly to 6x weekly

Delhi-Seoul (Incheon): Reduced from 5x weekly to 4x weekly

Air India has said it is proactively contacting affected passengers to offer re-accommodation on alternative flights, complimentary rescheduling, or full refunds. "The revised schedule is being progressively made available on our website, airindia.com, mobile app, and through our contact center. We remain committed to restoring our full schedule as soon as practicable."

Speaking about the "temporary reduction" of flights, Wilson said that "regrettably," the time required to perform these enhanced safety checks, along with the application of extra caution, and the situation in Iran and the Middle East, along with normal airline technical issues, has led to a higher-than-usual number of cancellations on the airline's long-haul network.