Air India has begun a "phased restoration" of its international operations and will return to a full roster of flights - i.e., before the June 12 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad - by October 1 of this year, the airline's CEO, Campbell Wilson, said in a company statement Wednesday.
After the tragedy - London-bound AI 171 lost thrust 32 seconds after take-off and crashed into a hostel building 2km from the airport, killing 274 people - Air India partially halted international flights.
This was pending checks, including one set advised by the US aviation regulator, the Federal Aviation Authority, in 2018 on potential accidental disengagement of fuel supply control toggles in Dreamliners.
India's regulator, the Director-General of Civil Aviation, ordered Air India and IndiGo - the only two commercial operators of the Dreamliner in the country - to also conduct an extensive safety audit.
On July 16 Air India said it had completed all checks and found no significant issue.
"This measured approach ensures we complete every verification (process) thoroughly and resume service with complete confidence," Mr Wilson told customers this afternoon.
An initial inquiry by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said the fuel supply switches - designed to not move accidentally during flight - had moved from the 'RUN' to 'CUTOFF' positions.
Air India's Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed 32 seconds after take-off.
The discovery triggered a row.
Foreign media, in particular American publication The Wall Street Journal, reported that the senior pilot - Captain Sumeet Sabharwal - deliberately switched off fuel supply and crashed the plane. The claim was emphatically shot down by the government, as "unverified" and "irresponsible (reporting)".
READ | "Western Media Promoting Own Viewpoint": Aviation Minister On AI Crash
The final report - which should explain exactly what happened - is pending.
However, in July FAA chief Bryan Bedford was quoted in a Reuters reporr as saying "we can say with a high level of confience... it doesn't appear to be a mechanical issue with the Boeing fuel control unit".
READ | No Fault With Boeing Fuel Control Unit: US Aviation Body On Air India Crash
Meanwhile, the Air India boss also acknowledged "some operational challenges over the last few weeks", and said, "Rest assured... we take this seriously and we are committed to strengthening our internal processes to minimise the inconvenience that such circumstances cause you..."
Air India has had to battle turbulence since the crash, with multiple instances of 'technical' issues or snags grounding and/or delaying planes flying domestic and international sectors.
On Monday, for instance, a Kolkata-bound Air India Xpress had to return to Bengaluru after flying for over two hours. And on Sunday another 'snag' forced the cancellation of a Singapore-Chennai service.
READ | 112 Air India Pilots Took Sick Leave 4 Days After Dreamliner Crash
The airline has also had to deal with pilots facing mental trauma; last month junior Aviation Minister Murlidhar Mohol told Parliament that 112 pilots went on medical leave four days after the crash.
Air India's international flight ops will be back to full strength by Oct 1 (File).
In addition, Air India has also had to navigate multiple callouts of safety violations.
In July the DGCA said it found 51 safety lapses in the airline's operations during an annual audit, raising fresh concerns over the operator's compliance with mandatory aviation safety norms.
The audit revealed a range of shortcomings, including outdated training manuals, fragmented training records, lack of pilot training and poor staff management, and irregularities over low-visibility ops.
READ | Aviation Body Flags 51 Safety Lapses In Air India's Operations
Seven of those were classified as critical 'Level I' violations.
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