A Year After Air India Crash: Fear, Trust And Heavy Toll Of Flight AI171

On June 12, 2025, Air India Flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner travelling from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed 32 seconds after take-off. All but one of the 242 on board the plane and 19 on ground died. A year since the tragedy, the wounds remain etched in people's minds.

At Terminal 3 of Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, Anu Chikkara holds her newborn baby tightly as she shares her fears. "As soon as turbulence hits, your anxiety goes through the roof. Your concern centres around your child, who still has so much of the world to see," she says, while her child remains distracted by her aunt's ring. Chikkara acknowledges the necessity of air travel but notes that she flies out of compulsion rather than choice.

While Chikkara stands near the exit, Varesh and Tanishka Sharma, a couple from Jaipur who just returned from a trip to Sikkim, come out from another corner of the busy airport. Having flown on an aircraft for the first time, Varesh Sharma says the Ahmedabad crash forced him to stall his travel plans for as long as he could. The couple explains how the tragedy has increased their reliance on buses and trains. "Our parents are travelling from Rajasthan all the way to Tamil Nadu by train. We prefer that they take more time but stay safe during their journey," he said.

When asked why the couple would not send their elderly parents via a flight, a mode of transport that would take a quarter of the time, Varesh Sharma defends his choice: "When such prominent personalities have fallen prey to airborne accidents, who are we?"

While most carry anxiety as a remnant of the tragedy, Gurveer Singh, a marketing manager from Delhi, expresses confidence in the aviation system. "I genuinely feel flying is the most convenient form of travel, so I will always book a flight unless the destination I need to reach is not flight-friendly." Singh, however, adds that he checks the aircraft model before booking.

Bangalore-based professional Shreesh Madhwal, who shares an interest in aviation as a subject, says he loves flying but finds social media narratives and debates troubling. Looking at the larger picture, Madhwal says that the issue extends way beyond just a simple airline. "Aviation runs not only on engineering and regulations, but also on trust. Trust takes years to build, can be damaged in a matter of days, and must ultimately be rebuilt one safe flight at a time," he adds.

Demanding accountability, Ayush Nambiar, MD of the Nambiar Group, says, "Airlines and the DGCA must treat transparency as a safety instrument, not a courtesy." He adds, "Frequent flyers deserve clearer flight details, stronger tracking, and reasonable access to maintenance and service records of the jets."

While passengers hold diverse viewpoints, the flight crew remains mostly united in their belief that aviation is still the safest mode of travel, adhering strictly to all necessary protocols.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a senior pilot says he still believes his industry is the safest. "Such an incident leaves aviators with an immense sense of setback due to the loss of so many lives. However, air travel is still the safest mode of transport when looking at the statistical probability of fatalities." Reaffirming the abilities of his peers, he says, "Every pilot is trained to achieve a strict safety standard. Pilots are trained for different emergency scenarios and are evaluated every six months on their flying skills and decision-making."

Another crew member, a flight attendant with a prominent airline, reflects a similar sentiment. Expressing confidence in the safety and capability of the medium, she shrugs off the idea that the crew is anxious. "In the initial days, everyone was understandably more alert," she says. "However, with operations scheduled for up to four flights a day, the routine quickly begins to feel normal again."