Air India rejects claims of 11 grounded Boeing 787s, announces fuel surcharge cut on select international routes
New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) Air India on Friday dismissed reports claiming that 11 of its 26 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft are grounded, describing the assertions as “factually inaccurate” and clarifying that aircraft undergoing scheduled maintenance or upgrades should not be classified as grounded.
In a post on X, the Tata Group-owned airline said three Boeing 787-8 aircraft are currently undergoing cabin retrofits as part of its fleet modernisation programme, while four are in scheduled heavy maintenance checks. One aircraft is undergoing routine line maintenance, another is scheduled to return to India, and two are currently in active service.
“Planned maintenance or upgrades are not the same as ‘grounded aircraft’,” the airline said, urging passengers and the public to rely only on its official communication channels for accurate information.
The clarification came after several posts on X claimed that multiple Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners were aircraft-on-ground (AOG) at European airports.
Another X account, AviationAll, claimed that three Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners—VT-ANU in Amsterdam, VT-ANP in London Gatwick and VT-ANG in London Heathrow—were grounded, though it said the reasons for the aircraft being out of service were unknown.
Responding to these claims, Air India reiterated that aircraft undergoing scheduled maintenance, cabin retrofits or routine operational checks should not be categorised as grounded and rejected reports suggesting that 11 of its 26 Boeing 787-8 aircraft were unavailable for operations.
Separately, Air India also announced a reduction in fuel surcharge on select international routes. The airline said the fuel surcharge on flights to North America and Australia has been reduced to $200 from $280, while passengers travelling on European routes will see the surcharge lowered to $125 from $205. The move is expected to reduce travel costs for customers on these sectors.
–IANS
pk
