Just days after the tragic crash of Air India Flight AI171, which claimed 241 lives and left only one survivor, fresh concerns have emerged after a replacement flight on the same route was cancelled due to a technical fault.
Flight AI159, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner scheduled to fly from Ahmedabad, Gujarat to London Gatwick on Tuesday, was grounded following the detection of a mechanical glitch during routine pre-departure checks, according to local media sources.
The aircraft was expected to depart at 1:10 p.m. local time and arrive in London by 6:25 p.m., but the fault forced the airline to suspend the flight, leaving passengers stranded at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.
Flight AI159 is a renumbered version of the ill-fated AI171 route, which crashed last Thursday into a residential neighborhood, killing nearly all of the 242 people onboard. The renaming was part of Air India’s crisis response following the disaster.
CNN News18 reports that the aircraft assigned for AI159 had arrived earlier from New Delhi before the technical issue was discovered, sparking immediate concern and prompting flight cancellation.
The crash of AI171 has drawn widespread international attention. On board the doomed flight were 159 Indian nationals, 53 British citizens, seven Portuguese passengers, and a Canadian. Only one person—40-year-old British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh—survived the horrific accident.
In response to the incident, aviation authorities have ordered a full inspection of all Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliners currently in service. Safety protocols are being reviewed across major Indian aviation hubs.
Interestingly, flight data reveals that an AI159 flight did eventually depart Ahmedabad and land in London after a delay of nearly three hours on Wednesday. Among the passengers on that delayed flight was an individual who had originally been scheduled to travel on the crashed AI171 but had rescheduled at the last minute.
As investigations into the crash continue, the latest cancellation has reignited concerns over the safety and maintenance standards of India’s national carrier, casting a shadow over its international operations.
