Air India To Resume Full International Flights By October 1 After Safety Review

Air India has announced a phased resumption of its international operations following a "Safety Pause" implemented after the tragic crash of flight AI-171 on June 12. In the wake of the incident, the airline temporarily suspended or scaled back multiple international routes to carry out precautionary inspections of its Boeing 787-8 fleet.

These safety checks were conducted under the oversight of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Additionally, the airline had to adapt its flight schedules in response to extended flight paths caused by regional airspace closures.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, July 15, Air India confirmed that international services will resume gradually, with partial operations beginning August 1. Initially, five routes will see reinstated services or increased flight frequencies. The airline aims to fully restore its global network by October 1, marking a complete return to normal operations.

The Key Routes

Partial services will resume on August 1, with full international operations targeted for restoration by October 1. As part of the initial resumption phase, five key routes will either see reinstated service or increased flight frequencies.

The Delhi–London (Heathrow) route will resume its full schedule of 24 weekly flights starting July 16. Delhi–Zurich will increase from four to five flights per week beginning August 1. Full weekly services on Delhi–Tokyo (Haneda) and Delhi–Seoul (Incheon) are scheduled to be reinstated by August and September, respectively. The Delhi–Amsterdam route will also return to its full schedule of seven flights per week from August 1.

New Connections

In addition to the route restorations, a new international connection will be introduced between Ahmedabad and London (Heathrow). This new service will operate three times a week, replacing the current five-times-weekly Ahmedabad–London (Gatwick) route. Meanwhile, Delhi–Nairobi flights will continue three times a week until August 31, after which the route will be suspended for the entire month of September.

International Connections At Reduced Frequencies

Despite the resumption of several routes, more than 15 international connections will continue to operate at reduced frequencies through at least the end of September. Among these, the Bengaluru–London (Heathrow) service, which currently runs six times per week (down from seven), will be further reduced to four weekly flights starting August 1. The Delhi–Paris route, which was previously operating 12 times per week, will be scaled back to seven flights per week beginning August 1. Delhi–Milan will be reduced from four to three flights per week starting July 16. The Delhi–Copenhagen route will remain at three flights per week, down from five, and the Delhi–Vienna connection will stay reduced from four to three weekly flights.

The Amritsar–Birmingham route will continue operating at two flights per week until August 31, before resuming three weekly flights in September. Delhi–Birmingham will maintain its reduced schedule of two flights per week through this period.

Long-haul flights to North America will also remain limited in frequency. Services to Washington, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, Vancouver, and both New York JFK and Newark will continue with reduced schedules, ranging from three to seven flights per week. Flights to Australia—including Delhi–Melbourne and Delhi–Sydney—will continue operating at five times per week.

Four international routes remain completely suspended until at least September 30. These include flights between Amritsar and London (Gatwick), Goa (Mopa) and London (Gatwick), Bengaluru and Singapore, and Pune and Singapore.

Safety Top Priority

Air India has reiterated that safety remains its top priority after the crash incident and that the phased resumption plan was developed in close coordination with aviation authorities and technical experts. The airline will continue to monitor operations closely as it works toward full international recovery by October 1.

'As the schedule reductions taken as part of the Safety Pause had been implemented until 31 July 2025 and the restoration to full operation is being phased, some services initially planned to operate between 1 August and 30 September 2025 will be removed from the schedule. Air India is proactively contacting affected passengers to offer re-booking on alternative flights or a full refund, as per their preference. Air India apologizes for the inconvenience', the airline said in a statement.