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Air India cancelled seven international flights on Tuesday, triggering widespread disruption as the airline intensified aircraft checks following last week's deadly crash in Ahmedabad. Two of the cancelled flights involved Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners—the same model involved in the tragic AI 171 incident that killed over 270 people.
The Ahmedabad-London flight AI 159, which was scheduled to be the first service post-crash on that route, was grounded after a technical glitch was detected during mandatory pre-flight checks. Similarly, the Delhi-Paris service was also cancelled due to a snag in the aircraft.
Other affected flights included services from London to Amritsar and Bengaluru to London. In a separate incident, AI 180, a Boeing 777 flying from San Francisco to Mumbai via Kolkata, suffered an engine snag, forcing passengers to deplane during its halt in Kolkata.
Air India issued a statement apologising to affected passengers and offered full refunds, hotel stays, and complimentary rescheduling. The airline said it is taking extra precautions in its fleet operations in the wake of recent events.