Mumbai: Almost five weeks after Flight-171 crashed 32 seconds after take-off from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai International airport and killed 270 persons, Air India has made a decisive announcement.
The Tata Group-owned airline said on Tuesday it will operate three flights in a week from Ahmedabad to London’s Heathrow, replacing Gatwick, London.
Two days after the horrific June 12 crash, Air India and Air India Express decided to do away with flight number ‘171’ as a mark of respect for those who lost their lives – 241 out of 242 persons on board and 29 people souls on ground.
In recent weeks, Air India had been operating five weekly flights on the Ahmedabad-London Gatwick route.
Now, it will fly three weekly flights from Mumbai to London Heathrow from August 1 to September 30, reported PTI.
Air India is planning full restoration of all its services from October 1.
Air India also announced partial restoration of schedules that were reduced following its decision to observe a ‘Safety Pause’ in the aftermath of the June 12 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crash.