Air India to cut international flights on widebody aircraft by 15%

Air India on Wednesday announced that it is reducing international flights on widebody aircraft by 15 per cent "until at least mid-July".

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In a statement, the Tata Group-owned airline also said it would undertake enhanced safety checks of widebody Boeing 777 aircraft as a matter of added precaution.

Air India has seen operational disruptions recently, with at least 83 of its international flights cancelled over the last six days.

On June 12, an Air India Boeing 787-8 plane enroute from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick crashed soon after takeoff, killing 241 people onboard and many others on the ground.

In the statement issued late in the evening, Air India said there have been disruptions due to the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, night curfew in airspaces of many countries in Europe and East Asia, and there are ongoing enhanced safety inspections.

Necessary cautious approach is being taken by the engineering staff and Air India pilots, it said. “Given the compounding circumstances that Air India is facing, to ensure stability of our operations, better efficiency and to minimise inconvenience to passengers, Air India has decided to reduce its international services on widebody aircraft by 15 per cent for the next few weeks," the statement said.

Details about the exact number of flights that will be impacted could not be immediately ascertained.