Air India flight to London cancelled days after Dreamliner disaster killed at least 270
17 June 2025, 09:06 | Updated: 17 June 2025, 10:57
An Air India flight to London from Ahmedabad has been cancelled just days after the fatal Gatwick-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crash last week.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The airline said the cancelled flight, which was travelling on the same route as a plane that crashed last week, has been cancelled because of “precautionary checks”.
The plane was due leave Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1.10pm local time (8.40am UK time).
It was scheduled to arrive at London's Gatwick Airport at 6.25pm UK time.
Air India’s website shows the flight was initially delayed by one hour and 50 minutes but has since been cancelled.
An Air India spokesperson said: “Flight AI 159 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick has been cancelled today due to the unavailability of the aircraft, resulting from airspace restrictions and additional precautionary checks, leading to longer than usual turnaround of aircraft, and not due to any technical snag as claimed.
“We regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers and have made alternative arrangements to fly them to their destination.”
This comes just days after the Air India disaster which saw a Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash to the ground, killing at least 270 people.
Less than a minute after taking off from Ahmedabad airport in northwestern India, the London-bound plane crashed and exploded into a fireball. Of the 242 people onboard, 241 died. There was only one survivor, who was in seat 11A on the plane.
Read more: UK investigators arrive in India as tributes pour in for plane crash victims
On Monday, an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner heading for Delhi was forced to turn back after the pilot said the aircraft was facing technical issues.
The plane had departed Hong Kong for Delhi but returned to Hong Kong as a precaution. The aircraft landed safely in Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, a report has revealed that an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner identical to the one involved last week's crash reportedly had an engine failure before making an emergency landing in 2023.
The airliner was reportedly forced to turn back just an hour into its 14-hour flight from Mumbai to London in August 2023, according to India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Pilots said they heard a “loud thud” immediately before the left engine lost power, the DGCA’s investigation report claimed.
Similarly, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, the only survivor of the Air India disaster last week, also said he heard a “loud noise” before Air India flight AI171 crashed.
This is a breaking story. More to follow.
