Following the tragic and heart-wrenching aircraft crash, another Air India airplane has made it to headlines but this time it is because of unavailability of the aircraft.
On Tuesday, Air India’s flight between Ahmedabad-London Gatwick airline (AI 159) was cancelled due to unavailability of Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, according to a statement issued by the Ahmedabad airport.
The flight AI159 was originally scheduled to depart from London at 10 pm on June 16, arriving Ahmedabad at 9:20 am on June 17, but it was delayed and departed from London at 11:16 pm on June 16 and arrived at Ahmedabad at 1:24 pm on June 17. Following this, it was rescheduled to depart from Ahmedabad at 3 pm; however it was eventually cancelled, according to the officials.
An anonymous spokesperson of Air India stated, “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.”
He furthermore mentioned, “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 June 17 stands cancelled.”
It is to be noted that this cancellation of the flight came into the light following the heightened scrutiny of Air India’s operation after the airplane crash in Ahmedabad, which led to the death of 241 people on board. Notably, this crash involved a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner - the similar category AI159 falls in.
While highlighting the matter, the officials told HT that Air India has decided to stop the operation of flight number AI171 and will replace the flight number to AI159. It was further highlighted, “The flight from Ahmedabad to Gatwick will be re-numbered to AI 159. The return flight will also be changed to AI16.”
In this matter, a former airline official mentioned, “The idea behind changing the number of a flight is to avoid triggering trauma or bad memories. It is also a way to disassociate the route from the tragedy in the minds of passengers and travellers.”