Sixteen Air India flights were cancelled on Tuesday, exacerbating the airline’s most turbulent times since the Tata group took over its reins three and a half years ago.

Of these, 13 were Boeing 787 Dreamliners, the broad model that crashed on June 12 in Ahmedabad, killing 241 on board.

While the Delhi-Paris flight was called off after problems were detected during pre-flight checks, the Ahmedabad-London flight was cancelled because of the unavailability of aircraft resulting from the airspace restrictions triggered by the Israel-Iran conflict, the airline said. The Paris-Delhi service was also cancelled.

The other cancelled services were AI915 (Delhi-Dubai), AI153 (Delhi-Vienna), AI33 (Bengaluru-London) and AI170 (London-Amrit

Air India had on Monday resumed flights from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick with the new code AI159 instead of AI171, the identification number of the London-bound flight that crashed.

AI159 from Ahmedabad was supposed to depart for London at 1.10pm as per flightradar24, the flight-tracking platform. But there were no aircraft available at Sardar Vallabhbhai International Airport.

Many passengers complained that the crew members did not inform them about the reason for the cancellation.

An Air India spokesperson said: “Flight AI159 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. Consequently, flight AI170 from London Gatwick to Amritsar on June 17 stands cancelled.”

The airline added: “We regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers and have made alternative arrangements to fly them to their destination. We are providing hotel accommodation and also offering full refunds on cancellations or complimentary rescheduling if opted by passengers.”

Passengers, however, expressed unhappiness.

S. Zala, an advocate from Bhavnagar in Gujarat who was to attend a conference in London, said he was planning to send a legal notice to the airline. “When I reached the airport, I was informed that the flight had been cancelled. The authorities didn’t give any reason. I told them I would send them a legal notice. I was supposed to attend a legal conference in London. I was to take the June 12 flight that crashed, but the conference got postponed,” he told news agency PTI.

On Monday, AI159 had left from Ahmedabad at 3.30pm and landed at Gatwick airport at 9.32pm. The five-times-a-week service had remained suspended on June 14 and 16 after the June 12 crash.

AI143 from Delhi to Paris and AI142 from Paris to Delhi were also cancelled on Tuesday. The scheduled departure of AI143 was 1.15pm. “The mandatory pre-flight checks identified an issue which is being presently addressed. However, in view of the flight coming under the restrictions on night operations at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport, the said flight has been cancelled. Consequently, flight AI142 from Paris to Delhi on June 17 also stands cancelled,” Air India said.

The airline said it was providing hotel accommodation and also offering full refunds on cancellations or complimentary rescheduling, whichever the passengers wanted.

NCP parliamentarian Supriya Sule questioned the disruptions that have afflicted Air India. “Travelling from Delhi to Pune on Air India flight AI 2971. The flight is delayed by over 3 hours — no clear communication, no updates, no assistance and very bad service. Such delays and mismanagement are becoming a norm with Air India. Passengers are left stranded and helpless. This apathy is unacceptable,” Sule posted on X, urging civil aviation minister K. Rammohan Naidu to intervene and hold the airline accountable.

Congress Rajya Sabha member Rajiv Shukla said: “The recent spate of cancellations and delays of numerous Air India flights due to technical issues is deeply concerning. It raises serious questions about the airline’s maintenance protocols and operational readiness. The airline needs to do a lot now to restore public trust.”

IndiGo bomb threat

An IndiGo flight from Kochi to Delhi made an emergency landing at Nagpur airport on Tuesday after it received a bomb threat, sources said. The flight had arrived at Kochi from Muscat. It had departed for Delhi with 157 passengers and six crew members at 9.31am.

Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) said the threat was received on its official email ID. “The information was promptly communicated to relevant authorities following which the flight made an emergency landing at Nagpur airport,” the airport operator said.

An IndiGo spokesperson said later in a statement that a “security concern” pertaining to its flight had been received. “The flight safely landed at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport, Nagpur, and all customers disembarked,” IndiGo said.

The spokesperson said the airline was fully cooperating with the authorities concerned in conducting the mandatory security checks before the aircraft was cleared to resume operations.