Air India has announced that it is halting its services between Delhi and Washington, DC, from next month due to a combination of "operational factors". Several of Air India's Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner planes wouldn't be available due to the retrofit programme, the airline said. The announcement comes two months after the airline's London-bound 787-8 Dreamliner plane crashed in Ahmedabad moments after take-off. Only one of the 242 passengers and crew on board survived the June 12 crash, which also killed nearly twenty people on the ground.
The suspension will come into effect from September 1 to ensure the "reliability and integrity of the overall route network", it said.
"The suspension is primarily driven by the planned shortfall in Air India's fleet, as the airline commenced retrofitting 26 of its Boeing 787-8 aircraft last month," Air India said in a statement.
The airline said the retrofit programme is aimed at significantly enhancing customer experience, "necessitating a prolonged unavailability of multiple aircraft at any given time until at least the end of 2026".
The closure of airspace over Pakistan has also impacted the airline's long-haul flights. "Coupled with the continued closure of airspace over Pakistan, impacts the airline's long-haul operations, leading to longer flight routings and increased operational complexity," it said.People who have already booked Air India flights 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.
The passengers, however, will continue to have the option of one-stop flights to Washington, DC via four US gateways - New York (JFK), Newark (EWR), Chicago, and San Francisco - with the airline's interline partners, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines.
This will allow them "to travel on a single itinerary with their baggage checked through to the final destination," Air India said.
"Air India will continue to operate non-stop flights between India and six destinations in North America, including Toronto and Vancouver in Canada," it added.
Air India's Dreamliners - 26 legacy 787-8s and seven 787-9s - had undergone checks, including that of fuel switches, after the fatal crash.
On Sunday, the Tata Group-owned airline said that it has now started the retrofit of the first legacy Dreamliner under the $400 million fleet retrofit programme that was announced in December 2022.
As part of a Reliability Enhancement Programme, the airline said it will be upgrading the avionics and other critical components of the 26 legacy B787-8 aircraft up to the latest industry standards, thus improving their reliability.
"This is intended to reduce operational disruptions for both Air India and its customers," the statement said.