Air India cancels London - Amritsar flight AI 170 on June 17. Here's why

An Air India flight scheduled to fly from London Gatwick to Amritsar on Tuesday, June 17, was cancelled by the airline. Earlier in the day, another flight from Ahmedabad to Gatwick was also cancelled.

Air India said that Ahmedabad to Gatwick was cancelled today due to aircraft unavailability caused by airspace restrictions and additional precautionary checks, which led to a longer-than-usual turnaround time.

“Consequently, flight AI170 from London Gatwick to Amritsar on 17th June stands cancelled,” said the Tata Group airline in its statement.

‘Not due to technical snag’

Air India also clarified that the cancellation of Ahmedabad-Gatwick flight was “not due to any technical snag as claimed.”

The Tata Group airline said it is also providing hotel accommodation, and offering full refunds on cancellations or complimentary rescheduling if opted by the passengers.

Air India Delhi to Paris flight cancelled

Adding to the string of cancellations, on Tuesday, in a separate incident, an Air India flight from Delhi to Paris was also cancelled. The mandatory pre-flight checks identified an issue which is being presently addressed, officials told ANI.

Same day, early morning, passengers onboard an Air India flight enroute Mumbai from San Francisco were forced to deplane in Kolkata, West Bengal after the aircraft encountered a technical snag.

The latest incidents centering Air India long haul flights comes less than a week after the airline's AI171 flight — a Boeing Dreamliner — crashed on Thursday, June 12, marking one of the deadliest aviation disasters in a decade.

Air India plane crash: 144 DNA samples matched

Following the deadly crash in Ahmedabad, which killed 241, out of 242 people on board, forensic teams have been carrying out DNA tests to identify the deceased, as all the bodies were charred.

Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi confirmed that the DNA samples of 144 victims in the Air India plane crash has been successfully matched as of 12 pm on Tuesday.