Air India is scrapping flight number AI 171 after Thursday’s deadly crash near Ahmedabad. The carrier will replace it with AI 159, and the return route will switch from AI 172 to AI 160. Officials say the change aims to avoid bad memories linked to the tragedy.
The crash killed 241 people on board, with only one survivor among 242 passengers and crew. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner went down seconds after takeoff, carrying nearly 125,000 litres of fuel. The plane hit a medical college hostel after descending with its landing gear still out.
“The idea behind changing the number of a flight is to avoid triggering trauma or bad memories,” a former airline official said.
“It is also a way to disassociate the route from the tragedy in the minds of passengers and travellers,”
Flight renumbering after disasters isn’t new. Malaysian Airlines changed its MH370 flight number after it vanished in 2014. Similarly, Lion Air switched from JT610 to JT618 after its fatal crash in 2018.
A former pilot called the Boeing 787 one of the safest fleets. The crash details remain unclear, with authorities collecting evidence and warning against speculation.
“Yesterday was all about rescue efforts. We have begun collecting material evidence today.”
“There are many theories being made, however, clarity on the sequence of events and initial cause of the crash will be revealed only after the evidence is analysed,” said an Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau official.
Air India has not commented on the flight number change officially. The shift to AI 159 will roll out soon.
