Air India on Thursday reached out to members of its loyalty programme, assuring them that the airline is prioritising flight security. The provider, grappling with final Thursday’s lethal crash of considered one of its Boeing 787-8 plane in Ahmedabad, additionally informed its loyalty programme members that the pilots of that plane have been extremely skilled, and the airplane was nicely maintained with a clear invoice of well being.
“At Air India, your security is our highest precedence and at all times has been since we took over the airline in 2022. On this context, we need to share some vital info about Flight AI171 to supply readability throughout this troublesome time…The flight was led by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a extremely skilled pilot and coach with over 10,000 hours flying widebody plane. First Officer Clive Kunder, had over 3,400 hours of flying expertise… The airplane was well-maintained, with its final main examine in June 2023 and the subsequent scheduled for December 2025. Its proper engine was overhauled in March 2025, and the left engine was inspected in April 2025. Each the plane and engines have been repeatedly monitored, displaying no points earlier than the flight,” Air India CEO Campbell Wilson acknowledged in an electronic mail to members of Air India’s Maharaja Membership loyalty programme.
“These are the info as we all know them right this moment. We, along with your complete aviation trade, await the official investigation report to grasp extra,” Wilson added.
An Air India Boeing 787-8 plane—working flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed moments after take-off final Thursday. The ill-fated plane had 242 folks on board, however just one survived the accident. There have been a number of casualties on the bottom as nicely. This was the worst aviation catastrophe involving an Indian airline in at the least 4 many years, and the first-ever crash of the Boeing 787 wherever on this planet. The crash is being investigated by India’s Plane Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). Moreover, a high-level multi-disciplinary committee of the federal government can be analyzing the causes behind the crash with the view to additional strengthen the aviation security ecosystem and formulate customary working procedures (SOPs) for stopping and dealing with such accidents sooner or later.
“We’re reaching out with heavy hearts following the tragic crash of Air India Flight AI171 on June 12, 2025. The lack of 241 passengers and crew members, together with 34 folks on the bottom, has left us all in deep sorrow. Phrases can’t specific the ache we really feel for the households and family members affected by this devastating occasion. We’re totally dedicated to doing all we are able to to assist the households impacted and are additionally working carefully with authorities to grasp the reason for this tragedy. Our ideas are with everybody touched by this loss,” Wilson’s letter learn.
Wilson additionally gave an replace to Air India frequent flyers on the standing of the protection inspections of its wide-body fleet and the extra measures being taken by the airline. These are among the many causes behind Air India deciding to curtail its wide-body worldwide flights by 15 per cent until mid-July.
“Arising from this tragedy, and as directed by the Directorate Normal of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on June 14, 2025, we’ve been conducting thorough security inspections on our 33 Boeing 787 plane. Up to now, inspections have been accomplished on 26 and these have been cleared for service. The remaining plane are at the moment in deliberate upkeep and could have these further checks accomplished earlier than being launched into service. Following the assessment, the DGCA has confirmed that our Boeing 787 fleet and upkeep processes totally meet security requirements,” Wilson acknowledged within the electronic mail.
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The time required to carry out these enhanced security checks, together with the “software of additional warning”, and exterior components like airspace closures in West Asia and night time curfew at varied worldwide airports, has led to higher-than-usual variety of cancellations on Air India’s long-haul community over the previous few days. Moreover, as a “confidence-building measure” Air India has determined to proceed enhanced pre-flight security checks on its Boeing 787 fleet and even its Boeing 777 plane, in the interim.
“Given the time these further checks will eat and the potential affect on schedules, we’ve determined to cut back our worldwide widebody flights by round 15% beginning June 20, 2025 by way of to at the least mid-July. This may also permit us to have extra backup plane able to deal with any sudden points. We perceive that this short-term discount to our schedule might have an effect on your journey plans, and we’re deeply sorry for any inconvenience. In case your flight is impacted, we’ll contact you to supply rebooking on one other flight at no further price, or a full refund. We are going to share the up to date worldwide schedule inside the subsequent few days,” Wilson acknowledged.
The Air India CEO stated that this can be a difficult time for the airline, and it’s “grateful” for patrons’ assist and understanding that “security should at all times come first”.
