Air India cancels Ahmedabad-London flight due to 'operational issues'

Days after a fatal air crash of the flight operating on the same route, Air India’s flight to London scheduled to depart from Ahmedabad on Tuesday afternoon (June 17) was cancelled due to “operational issues”, an airport official said.

Also read | Ahmedabad crash: No flaws found in Air India's 12 Boeing aircraft so far, says minister

The flight was scheduled to operate using a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. The Air India’s official website also confirmed that the AI-159 flight from Ahmedabad to the Gatwick airport at London stands cancelled. The plane was scheduled to depart at 3 pm from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.

New flight code

“We have been informed that the flight has been cancelled due to operational issues. The original flight from Ahmedabad to London, having code AI-171, resumed operation from Monday with a new flight code AI-159,” said the airport official.

The official did not elaborate on “operational issues” that caused the flight cancellation.

Flight AI-171, which crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12, has been replaced with a new code AI-159. All but one of the 242 passengers and crew members on board the flight AI-171 were killed in the crash.

No reason given

“I was travelling to Gatwick, London, on the 1 pm Air India flight, but I have just learned that it has been cancelled. The crew members did not provide any reason for the cancellation or details about a fare refund,” a passenger told ANI.

Also read | Air India flight from San Francisco suffers technical snag; passengers deplaned in Kolkata

Earlier, an Air India flight from San Francisco to Mumbai was forced to deplane passengers during a scheduled halt at Kolkata airport due to a technical snag in one of its engines.

Flight AI180 landed on time at 12.45 am, but a fault in the left engine of the Boeing 777-300 led to a delay in takeoff.