Air India AI-159 Ahmedabad-London flight cancelled

Ahmedabad-London Air India Flight AI-159 Cancelled Due to 'Airspace Unavailability' and Precautionary Checks

Ahmedabad, India - Air India has cancelled its flight AI-159 from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport to London's Gatwick Airport, which was scheduled to depart on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. The airline has cited "airspace unavailability" and the need for additional precautionary checks as the reasons for the cancellation.

In an official statement, an Air India spokesperson clarified the situation: "Flight AI159 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick has been cancelled today due to the unavailability of the aircraft, resulting from airspace restrictions and additional precautionary checks, leading to longer than usual turnaround of aircraft." The airline explicitly denied that the cancellation was due to any "technical snag," as some initial reports had suggested.

This move comes in the wake of a recent tragic incident involving another Air India flight, AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on the same route to London. This has understandably led to heightened safety measures and more rigorous inspections of the aircraft fleet.

"We regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers and have made alternative arrangements to fly them to their destination," the Air India statement continued. The airline confirmed that affected passengers are being offered hotel accommodation, full refunds, or complimentary rescheduling of their flights.

As a direct consequence of the AI-159 cancellation, the return flight, AI-170, from London Gatwick to Amritsar, has also been cancelled.

The term "airspace unavailability" in an aviation context can refer to a range of situations that prevent flights from operating in a particular area. These can include temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) imposed for security reasons, military exercises, VIP movements, or unforeseen events. In this instance, while the exact nature of the airspace restrictions has not been specified, it is widely believed to be linked to the ongoing investigation into the recent crash and the resulting increase in operational caution. The combination of these restrictions and the additional, more thorough precautionary checks on the aircraft led to the service's cancellation.