The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has directed Air India to carry out additional maintenance actions on its Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 planes equipped with Genx engines with immediate effect.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has published its preliminary report on the fatal accident of Air India's Boeing 787-8 plane that was operating flight AI 171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick on June 12.
The panel, chaired by the home secretary, is expected to submit its report in three months.
On the one-month anniversary of the Air India flight 171 crash that killed 241 passengers and 19 on the ground, relatives of passengers expressed renewed anxieties as they saw loved ones depart on the same route.
The DGCA directive called for a series of specific checks before each flight's departure from India, including inspection of fuel parameter monitoring systems, cabin air compressors, and electronic engine control units.
The pilot of the twin-engine wide bodied aircraft issued a 'Mayday' distress call, denoting a full emergency, soon after takeoff at 1.39 pm, the Air Traffic Control at Ahmedabad said.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, operated by Tata-owned Air India, was carrying 169 Indian nationals, 53 British citizens, 7 Portuguese, and 1 Canadian passenger, along with crew members. There are feared to be no survivors.
BJ Medical College students, professors, family members and staff exit with their luggage from the doctors' hostel amid high security, where the London-bound Air India flight crashed in Ahmedabad on Friday, June 13, 2025.
The operations of many global carriers, including Qatar Airways, have also been impacted due to the airspace curbs in the wake of the Middle East tensions.
The Ahmedabad airport cancelled flights post the crash before resuming limited flights in the evening.
In the message posted by Tata Group on X, he also said the group will cover the medical expenses of those injured and ensure that they receive all necessary care and support.
'We consider everyone who lost someone in this tragedy as part of our family -- now and forever.'
Air India, in a statement, said it has cancelled a "small" number of flights between November and December on account of delayed return of some aircraft from heavy maintenance and supply chain constraints, without naming the destinations.
The termination led to chaotic scenes at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport as the 211 passengers on the Boeing 777-200 LR tried to convince officials to let them reach their destination at the earliest.
The crash has dealt a blow to the conglomerate's efforts to turn around Air India, especially following its merger with Vistara in 2024.
Shah said the number of those killed will be officially released by the authorities after DNA test and identification of the victims.
A control room has also been set up in Ahmedabad and the numbers are 9978405304/079-23251900.
'The crash site must be secured because something small -- like a pipe or hydraulic line -- could hold a critical clue.'
Vistara's aircraft, having better interiors, will replace Air India's planes on major metro-to-metro routes between Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru after merger of both the carriers next month, sources privy to the development said on Thursday. "Air India aircraft are being refurbished one by one. Until that process is complete, it makes sense to deploy Vistara planes on our high-revenue metro-to-metro routes between Delhi, Mumbai and Benglauru," a source said.
Singapore Airlines will make an additional investment of Rs 3,194.5 crore in Tata Group-owned Air India post-merger of Vistara in November. The merger, announced on November 29, 2022, and set to be completed on November 11, 2024, will result in Singapore Airlines having a 25.1 per cent stake in the enlarged Air India. Full-service carrier Vistara, which started flying on January 9, 2015, is a joint venture between Tatas and Singapore Airlines, where the latter holds a 49 per cent shareholding.
Members of the Indian cricket fraternity expressed deep sorrow and extended heartfelt condolences to the victims and their families on Thursday after a London-bound Air India flight crashed shortly after takeoff in Gujarat's Ahmedabad.
'Other than blaming the pilot, there is zero accountability.'
So far this week, more than 90 flights have received bomb threats and most of them have turned out to be hoaxes.
Rajesh Patel, 57, said he collected nearly 70 tolas of gold ornaments, which would be priceless for the victims' kin, Rs 50,000 and a few US dollars from the scene of the deadly aviation tragedy and handed them over to the police.
Flight operations at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, which were suspended earlier following the crash of a Gatwick (London)-bound Air India Boeing 787-8, have now commenced with limited flights, the private airport operator said.
"When the fuel control switch has to be cut off, the pilot flying will say, fuel control switch left, confirm. So, after the confirmation is made by the second pilot, the pilot monitoring will cut off (the switch).
After a London-bound Air India aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport on Thursday, the spotlight is back on India's history with aviation disasters.
'Who gave the Tatas the right to discontinue technically sound practices related to safety and security?'
An Air India passenger has complained of finding a cockroach in an omelette served onboard the flight from the national capital to New York, with the airline saying the matter has been taken up with the catering service provider for further investigation.
The nationality of the passengers onboard will define the minimum liability applicable to the airline operator as per the Montreal Convention, Prudent Insurance Brokers vice president (aviation & specialty lines) Hitesh Girotra said.
Several foreign experts were seen scouting the crash site for the last two days, checking the debris to find clues.
At least 190 victims of last week's Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad have so far been identified through DNA matching and 159 bodies handed over to their families, an official said on Wednesday.
'$125 million for the hull and the remaining of over $350 million for liability.'
'We will continue supporting those affected long after the work in Ahmedabad is done.'
Sources in the know said a homeless man barged into the room at the hotel where the female cabin crew was staying and assaulted her.
Reuters Photographer Adnan Abidi captures images of the mangled remains of AI-171 which crashed shortly after take off from Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon.
'This was textbook emergency response under stress.'
Pilots' grouping ALPA-India on Thursday said the crew of the crashed AI 171 flight made every possible effort to protect the passengers onboard and they deserve respect, not unfounded character judgements.
Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, the sole survivor of the June 12 Air India plane crash, is seeking psychiatric help to cope with the trauma of the event and the loss of his brother.
Authorities are carrying out DNA tests to establish the identity of the victims as many bodies were charred beyond recognition or severely damaged.
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