Air India closes bookings for Dreamliner flights

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - State-owned carrier Air India has closed bookings on Boeing Co Dreamliner-operated flights "for the time being", the airline said on Thursday.

"Air India today temporarily stopped operations of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft on the directive of the country's Aviation Regulatory Authority, the DGCA (Director General of Civil Aviation)," the airline said in a statement.

"Air India will resume operations of flights with its B-787 aircraft once it receives the clearance from DGCA."

Airlines scrambled on Thursday to rearrange flights as Europe, Japan, Qatar and India joined the United States in grounding Boeing Co's Dreamliner passenger jets while battery-related problems are investigated.

(Reporting by Anurag Kotoky; editing by Matthias Williams)