Air India to Halt Delhi–Washington Flights from Sept 1 for Fleet Retrofit
Air India announced it will suspend its non-stop services between Delhi and Washington, DC, starting September 1, citing “operational factors.” The airline said several of its Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft will be unavailable due to an ongoing retrofit programme.
The announcement comes two months after the crash of Air India’s London-bound 787-8 Dreamliner in Ahmedabad on June 12, just moments after take-off. Of the 242 passengers and crew on board, only one survived, and nearly twenty people on the ground were also killed in what became the deadliest aviation accident in a decade.
According to the airline, the suspension is aimed at maintaining the “reliability and integrity” of its overall route network. The move is primarily driven by a planned fleet shortfall, as Air India began retrofitting 26 of its Boeing 787-8 aircraft last month.
The retrofit programme is designed to significantly enhance customer experience, but will require “a prolonged unavailability of multiple aircraft at any given time” until at least the end of 2026. In addition, the continued closure of Pakistani airspace has affected the airline’s long-haul operations, forcing longer flight routings and increasing operational complexity.
Passengers with bookings to or from Washington, DC, beyond September 1 will be contacted and offered alternative travel arrangements, including rebooking on other flights or full refunds, as per their preferences. Travellers will still have the option of one-stop flights to Washington, DC, via four US gateways—New York (JFK), Newark (EWR), Chicago, and San Francisco—through Air India’s interline partners Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines. This will allow passengers “to travel on a single itinerary with their baggage checked through to the final destination,” the airline said.
Air India confirmed it will continue operating non-stop flights between India and six North American destinations, including Toronto and Vancouver in Canada.
Following the June 12 crash, all of Air India’s Dreamliners—26 legacy 787-8s and seven 787-9s—underwent safety checks, including inspections of their fuel switches.
On Sunday, the Tata Group-owned carrier announced it had begun retrofitting the first of its legacy Dreamliners under the $400 million fleet upgrade programme announced in December 2022. As part of its Reliability Enhancement Programme, Air India will upgrade the avionics and other critical systems of its 26 legacy B787-8 aircraft to meet the latest industry standards, improving operational reliability. “This is intended to reduce operational disruptions for both Air India and its customers,” the statement said.
Image Credits- Air India
