Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran Lists Reasons for Recent Flight Cancellations Following AI-171 Crash

Tata Sons and Air India Chairman N Chandrasekaran, in an exclusive interview with Times Now Group Editor-in-Chief Navika Kumar on Wednesday, addressed the spate of flight cancellations following the AI-171 plane crash on June 12, which claimed 241 lives onboard the flight. Chandrasekaran said there were three main reasons behind the disruptions.

"First, I would like to say that there are more than 1,100 flights that we fly every day. And in the last six days, there have been, in general, anywhere from 5 to 16 or 18 flights, depending on the day, that have been cancelled. Okay, first, we need that number," Chandrasekaran said.

"Second, what has happened in this period of six days... there are three things at work. The first thing is, we have had to go through the DGCA checks. The moment the accident happened on the 12th, DGCA has mandated additional checks to be done on all the 787s. So, we have had to ground many 787s and, as a result, we are short of aircraft and we have to cancel those flights. That is one cause," he said.

"Twenty-four out of the 33, about 24 have gone through the checks, the remaining are going through. And it is taking time, but it will get through," he added.

"The second reason is also Iran's airspace is shut, and the whole thing that is happening in the Middle East. So, as a result, flights have to be diverted. When the flights are diverted, many of the flights get cancelled. And these two have a knock-on effect, because if the flight does not arrive in time, that flight cannot take off. And when that cannot take off, we have to cancel it because there is no aircraft," Chandrasekaran explained.

"The third is technical issues. And when we take off and land in any destination, you must know that we will be doing line checks. And every now and then, it is common in the line checks to find some spare part to be changed or something to be changed — not in every flight — but it does happen. So, because of that, there may be delays. If the spare part is there immediately, they change and immediately they take off. If the spare part is going to take time, and even if it comes and then they fix it, they may lose the slot of landing, because they will close the airports at 10 o’clock, some places, etc. So, these are the three things that have caused it. It is not all our technical errors," he said.

Chandrasekaran acknowledged the airline’s shortcomings in communication.

"But I agree with you. Air India could have been very proactive in terms of, every day, saying if they are cancelling, why are they cancelling? As opposed to a flight getting cancelled... and in these six days... because normally if they had not communicated, then it wouldn’t create so much fear. But because of what happened on June 12, anytime there is something... happens to be a delay or a diversion or a cancellation, even if I was travelling, I will be afraid. That is what has happened. So, we’ve got to do a better job of communication. We have not been good at it."

When asked by Kumar if he was admitting that communication has not been very strong, Chandrasekaran replied, "Absolutely".

A total of 241 passengers and crew on board Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (AI171) and 29 people on the ground were killed when the London-bound aircraft crashed into some buildings in the BJ Medical College campus and burst into flames moments after it took off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad. One passenger survived the disaster.

The Chairperson said that he has met the lone survivor, Vishwas Kumar Ramesh.

Vishwas, a 40-year-old British businessman from Leicester, was discharged on Tuesday evening from the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital following his recovery.

Chandrasekaran also "apologised" for the Air India plane crash. "I deeply regret that this accident happened in a Tata-run airline. And I feel very sorry," he said.

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