Air India has begun the phased restoration of its international flight schedule following a temporary “Safety Pause” initiated in June 2025 after the AI171 incident. The disruption, which led to widespread flight cancellations and adjustments, allowed for precautionary inspections of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet and operational rebalancing amid ongoing airspace restrictions over parts of the Middle East and Pakistan.

The airline has announced that from August 1, services on several key international routes will begin returning to full strength, with complete restoration targeted by October 1. As part of its recovery strategy, Air India will operate three weekly flights between Ahmedabad and London Heathrow, temporarily replacing the five weekly services to London Gatwick. This change will remain in effect through September.

Flights from Delhi to London Heathrow will resume their full schedule of 24 weekly operations beginning July 16. Services between Delhi and Zurich, Tokyo Haneda, and Seoul Incheon will see gradual increases through August and September. Delhi–Nairobi operations, which were temporarily halted, have also resumed with three weekly flights through August.

However, some routes continue to face temporary reductions in frequency due to fleet availability and operational constraints. Services from Delhi to Chicago, Toronto, Paris, Amsterdam, and Melbourne are among those running on modified schedules. Routes such as Bengaluru to London Heathrow and Delhi to Paris will continue at reduced frequencies through September.

A few international connections remain suspended, including services from Amritsar and Goa to London Gatwick, Bengaluru to Singapore, and Pune to Singapore. These routes are expected to return once operational stability improves and full capacity is restored across the fleet.

The airline confirmed that all affected passengers are being contacted with options for rebooking or full refunds. In its statement, Air India said it remains committed to ensuring both safety and operational reliability throughout the recovery process.

As of mid-June, Air India is operating more than 525 weekly international flights, connecting India to 63 destinations across short, medium, long, and ultra-long-haul sectors. The carrier aims to return to pre-June operational levels across all routes by early October 2025.