A crash in Ahmed-abad, a technical snag and endless wait in Calcutta. Air India’s recent troubles are driving passengers to rival airlines as confidence plummets.
The recent accident involving Air India’s Dreamliner aircraft on the Ahmedabad-London route, followed by a series of flight disruptions including Tuesday’s incident at Calcutta airport, has left many passengers wary of booking with the national carrier. Several frequent fliers who previously chose Air India, particularly for international travel, say they are now switching to other airlines, said tour operators.
The latest incident unfolded Tuesday when 228 passengers on Air India’s San Francisco-Mumbai flight were stranded for hours in Calcutta after a technical snag was detected in one engine of the Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft during a refuelling stop. Passengers alleged they were forced to remain seated in the aircraft for five hours before being allowed to disembark, with no proper communication from Air India throughout the ordeal.
The impact is already visible in booking patterns. Tour operators report that many travellers are avoiding Air India flights, and on several European and UK routes, Air India fares have dropped significantly compared to competitors in recent days.
Biplab Mitra, 73, who is flying to London on June 21 to visit his daughter, exemplifies this shift. “I had initially asked my travel agent to book my ticket on Air India. But after the recent crash, I asked him to book me on a Gulf-based airline instead,” said Mitra, who lives off EM Bypass.
City-based businessman Lalit Tejwani, who returned from London via Delhi on Air India last February, echoed this sentiment.
“I would often take Air India because I’m comfortable flying with them. But for my next trip to Europe planned in September, I’m considering routes via Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Qatar,” Tejwani said. He has even advised a relative traveling to London for higher studies to avoid Air India entirely.
The trend extends to group bookings as well. Raktim Roy, managing director of Dolphin Travels, is reconsidering Air India tickets for 18 Calcutta residents planning a July trip to Kenya.
“The flight tickets were booked with Air India because it was most convenient.
But after the accident and disruptions, we’re wary and thinking of rebooking with another airline,” he said.
Nightmare journey
The passenger experience on Tuesday’s disrupted flight tells a sobering story. S.R. Veeraraghavan, a frequent traveller who was on the stranded San Francisco-Mumbai flight, reached his Mumbai home in Sion around 2am on Wednesday after nearly 43 hours of travel. He was originally scheduled to land in Mumbai at 4.30am on Tuesday.
“It was a bitter and horrifying experience. In the future, especially for long-haul flights, I will not travel on Air India. Imagine sitting in the plane for five hours and we were not told why it happened,” said Veeraraghavan. He was eventually accommodated on a Tuesday night flight that departed around 9.30pm and reached Mumbai at 12.30am Wednesday.
Veeraraghavan said he will neither fly Air India again nor recommend it to others.
Economic impact
The passenger exodus is creating significant pricing pressure. Travel agents note that Air India previously attracted many passengers, particularly elderly travellers, who preferred the airline for international travel due to comfortable communication with Hindi-speaking cabin crew and competitive pricing.
“Earlier, Air India tickets would be cheaper by ₹10,000 compared to Gulf carriers. On Wednesday, the difference in fares to sectors like London and Paris was more than ₹25,000,” said one tour operator.
“This week, we are seeing most passengers avoiding Air India flights and wanting seats on other airlines, particularly for travel to Europe or the US,” said Anil Punjabi, national committee member of the Travel Agents Federation of India’s eastern region.
Airline’s response
Air India officials dispute claims of widespread cancellations across their network. “We have not observed any drastic rise in cancellations,” said an Air India official.
The airline attributed recent west-bound flight cancellations to factors beyond its control.
“Air India’s west-bound flights are taking longer routes over Egypt and Greece because Pakistan has closed its airspace and due to tensions in West Asia. This is forcing flights to take 90 to 100 minutes extra,” the official explained.
Additionally, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has mandated pre-takeoff checks on Air India’s Boeing 787 fleet, which take four to six hours to complete. “By the time aircraft get clearance to fly, it becomes night at several European airports where there are restrictions on night operations. So several flights are getting cancelled,” the official said.
Despite these explanations, the combination of safety concerns, operational disruptions, and poor passenger communication appears to be taking a heavy toll on Air India’s reputation and market position.
