Indian airline Air India is facing pressure as Indian airline Air India ordered a check on its Boeing 787 aircraft involved in last week's massive fatal crash crash.
The London-bound Air India flight crashed during takeoff in Ahmedabad city, killing at least 270 people, including 241 passengers and crew.
What do we know about Air India cancellation?
Air India said Wednesday it will cut international operations of widebody aircraft by 15% over the coming weeks.
A total of 83 wide-body flights, including 66 flights, including Boeing Dreamliner, have been cancelled, according to data shared by the Director of Civil Aviation Bureau, India's aviation safety regulator.
“There's an operational cascade impact. We're very careful and we're doing extra checks beyond normal,” a company executive familiar with the issue spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The initial check of Air India's Boeing Dreamliner fleet “disclosed no major safety concerns,” the country's regulator said late Tuesday.
“We have found that the aircraft and related maintenance systems are in compliance with existing safety standards,” the official added.
On Wednesday, the airline said in a statement that inspections have been completed on 26 of the 33 Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 aircraft.
The remaining planes will be checked in the coming days, with additional checks scheduled for the airline's Boeing 777 Fleet.
In addition to testing, airspace closures in some Middle Eastern countries, as a result of the conflict between Israel and Iran, have crippled Air India's domestic and international activities.
More than 200 victims identified from crash fall in Ahmedabad
The airline tried to reassure passengers, but searching for the cause of the crash in Ahmedabad is underway by experts from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau in India, with the assistance of the UK, US and Boeing.
Investigators are currently obtaining important information from both black boxes, cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders retrieved from the site.
Air India's Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner erupted into a fireball when it crashed after takeoff, leaving witnesses saying it was a severely burned body and scattered ruins.
Indian authorities said on Wednesday that more than 200 victims of Ahmedabad's crash fell have been identified through DNA testing.
The announcement was welcome news for the families of many victims. Many of them provide DNA samples to identify loved ones.
“As of 2pm, the 202 DNA (samples) are in agreement,” writes Hashsangavi, Gujarat Home Minister of Ahmedabad, in X.
Editor: Rana Taha
