Air India's BIG announcement: Days after Ahmedabad plane crash, Airline to cut wide body international flights by 15% from...

Air India has reduced its international services on wide-body aircraft by 15 per cent for the next few weeks. The decision comes after the tragic loss of 241 lives on board Air India-171 flight, which crashed in Ahmedabad. According to an official statement by Air India, the cuts will be implemented between June 18 and 20, and will continue until at least mid-July. The decision has been taken to add to the airlines' reserve aircraft availability to take care of any unplanned disruptions.

Air India has given its passengers a choice to either reschedule their travel without any cost or to be given a full refund, while the airline is attempting to accommodate its international passengers on alternate flights. The revised schedule of Air India's international services, effective from June 20, will be shared shortly, said the official statement.

Offering condolences to the families of the deceased in the plane crash, the airlines said, in coordination with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Government of Gujarat, Air India is making efforts to support the family members of the deceased and the injured.

Air India and Tata Group volunteers are deputed in Ahmedabad for coordination with family members for any assistance at the hospitals and for them to travel back to their respective homes with the mortal remains of the deceased, the official statement by the airlines said.

Giving an update regarding the investigation into the crash, Air India said that the investigating authorities are continuing their efforts to find out the reasons for the accident. The DGCA had mandated 'Enhanced Safety Inspection' across Air India's Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft fleet. Out of a total 33 aircraft, inspections have now been completed on 26 and these have been cleared for service, while inspection of the remainder will be complete in the coming days.

The statement said, "As a matter of added precaution, Air India will also undertake enhanced safety checks on its Boeing 777 fleet and, going forward, we will continue to cooperate with the authorities, viz AAIB, DGCA, MoCA to ensure the safety of our passengers, our crew and our aircraft, which remains our highest priority."

Earlier on Wednesday, Air India and Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran publicly expressed his sorrow over the London-bound Air India flight crash on June 12, finally breaking his silence after the tragedy during an interview with Group Editor-in-Chief of Times Now and Times Now Navbharat, Navika Kumar.

In an exclusive interview on The NewsHour with Navika Kumar, Chandrasekaran said that the airline was doing everything possible to support the victims' families and that there were no words to console the grieving families, but he pledged that the company would stand with them now and in the future as well.

"It is an extremely difficult situation where I have no words to console any of the families of those who died. I deeply regret that this accident happened in a Tata-run airline. And I feel very sorry. All we can do is to be with the families at this time, grieve with them and we will do everything to support them at this hour and beyond," the Tata Sons Chairman stated. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from ANI)