Air India’s AI-159 flight from Ahmedabad to London was cancelled on Tuesday, just days after a fatal crash involving another Air India flight on the same route. The flight, scheduled to depart at 3 pm from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, was called off due to what the airline initially described as a "technical fault", airline officials said.
Air India later issued an official statement, saying, “The 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.”
The airline further said, “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 of 17 June stands cancelled.”
However, Air India later clarified that the cancellation was not due to any technical snag. In an official statement, the airline said: “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.”
The airline added that passengers were being accommodated in hotels and given the option of full refunds or complimentary rescheduling. It also announced that the return flight, AI170 from London Gatwick to Amritsar scheduled for June 17, had also been cancelled as a result.
Flight renumbered after June 12 crash
Following the deadly June 12 crash of AI-171 shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, Air India had replaced the flight number with AI-159 for the Ahmedabad-Gatwick route. The return flight was renumbered to AI-160. “The flight from Ahmedabad to Gatwick will be re-numbered to AI 159. The return flight too will be changed to AI 160. The change will start to reflect soon,” an airline official was quoted as saying earlier.
A former airline executive said renumbering flights after major accidents is standard procedure in the aviation industry to avoid triggering traumatic associations among passengers and staff.
India’s deadliest crash in recent years
The AI-171 crash claimed 274 lives, 241 on board and 33 on the ground, after the aircraft lost power shortly after takeoff and crashed into the BJ Medical College hostel complex near Meghaninagar, bursting into flames. The sole survivor was a British-Indian national seated in 11A. Among those killed on the ground were five MBBS students.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is conducting a full investigation into the crash.