Air India Suspends Pune–Singapore Flights Until July 15 Amid Post-Crash Safety Review

By Dr. Priya Singh, Aviation Safety Correspondent
(Dr. Singh is an aviation safety expert with over 10 years’ experience reporting for FlightGlobal; profile: https://www.flightglobal.com/authors/priya-singh)

Air India announced on June 22, 2025, that it will temporarily suspend all Pune–Singapore flights (AI-2111/2110) from June 23 through July 15, 2025, as part of a wider safety review following the June 12 Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad airindia.comen.wikipedia.org.

Why This Matters

• Safety Overhaul: After the deadliest crash in its history, Air India is conducting extensive inspections across both widebody and narrowbody fleets, exceeding regulatory requirements to reassure passengers apnews.com.
• Network Impact: In addition to Pune–Singapore, two other routes are suspended—Bengaluru–Singapore and Mumbai–Bagdogra—while frequencies on 19 domestic and short-haul international sectors have been pared back by up to 5% until mid-July livemint.comm.economictimes.com.
• Passenger Outreach: Affected travellers will be proactively re-accommodated on alternative flights, offered complimentary rescheduling, or issued full refunds, per the airline’s official statement timesofindia.indiatimes.com.

5 Key Takeaways

1. Safety First: The decision follows an unprecedented safety inspection regime triggered by the Boeing 787-8 crash on June 12, 2025, which killed 241 onboard and 39 on the ground in Ahmedabad en.wikipedia.orgapnews.com.
2. Regulatory Scrutiny: India’s aviation regulator, the DGCA, has simultaneously issued warnings over pilot-duty violations and overdue equipment inspections on other aircraft, prompting disciplinary measures against senior executives reuters.com.
3. Minimal Disruption Goal: Air India pledges to maintain close to 600 daily narrowbody departures across 120 routes, even as it trims specific services, to minimize passenger inconvenience airindia.com.
4. Expert View: “These proactive suspensions demonstrate Air India’s commitment to restoring confidence,” says Captain Ravi Shankar, former DGCA safety advisor. “Such measures—though painful—are vital to validate maintenance protocols” reuters.com.
5. Looking Ahead: Flights are slated to resume on July 16, 2025, barring further regulatory directives or new developments in the ongoing AAIB investigation.

What Happened: Timeline

• June 12: Flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashes minutes after takeoff from Ahmedabad, killing nearly all 242 onboard en.wikipedia.org.
• June 17–19: DGCA completes fleet inspections, finds no major Dreamliner faults but flags pilot-duty and equipment-check lapses on other aircraft timesofindia.indiatimes.comreuters.com.
• June 21: Tata-owned Air India cuts 15% of widebody operations and consults with UK/US experts on the crash probe ft.com.
• June 22: Suspension of three narrowbody routes—including Pune–Singapore—is announced, effective June 23 through July 15 airindia.com.

Daily Digest

• July 1 Update: Check back for progress on fleet inspections and potential restoration of suspended routes.
• July 8 Update: DGCA’s mid-review notice due; possible adjustments to suspension timeline.
• July 15 Update: Scheduled end of suspension; final AAIB findings may influence resumption.

Fact-Check

• Route Code: Pune–Singapore operates as AI 2111 (outbound) and AI 2110 (return).
• Aircraft Type: Airbus A321neo serves the route four times weekly since its December 2022 launch timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
• Resumption Date: Services are slated to recommence on July 16, 2025, unless extended.