MC EXCLUSIVE What plane am I flying? Passengers demand aircraft filters on travel sites after Air India crash

This week saw many travelers rearranging flights after cancellation, domestic airlines in India have witnessed a 15-20 percent rise in cancellations following the crash of Air India flight AI 171 on June 12 as domestic passengers are rescheduling flights to avoid flying on Boeing aircraft while some are avoiding air travel, senior executives from a domestic carriers told Moneycontrol.

The recent crash of the Air India flight AI 171, a Boeing aircraft, has instilled immense fear among travellers, so much so that Indian passengers have started checking the model of the aircraft before booking flights and some have even reached out to the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), requesting that all online travel booking platforms in India have a filter to show the model of the aircraft, government officials told Moneycontrol.

"Online platforms like Skyscanner, Agoda and other international booking platforms offer customers the option to filter out flights operated by Boeing and Airbus. Following the June 12 crash, we have received online complaints from Indian passengers at Consumer Online Resource and Empowerment (CORE) Centre under the Consumer Coordination Council (CCC) to increase transparency about the aircraft being flown," a senior government official told Moneycontrol.

He added that the CCPA has reached out to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Tourism and major online travel portals to discuss its implementation on booking portals.

Another government official told Moneycontrol that the central government is considering multiple proposals to make it mandatory for online travel agents (OTAs) to launch a new feature on their websites that would let passengers decide between a Boeing and an Airbus aircraft.

"There have been multiple discussions, both internationally and within India, about the need for a filter on the website of online travel portals to screen the aircraft models before booking," the second official said.

What are OTAs saying?

Moneycontrol reached out to many OTAs in India, including MakeMyTrip, Yatra.com, IxiGo, EaseMyTrip and others, but could not verify from OTAs if they are working on such a filter. Cleartrip responded to Moneycontrol saying it does not have any such plan.

Aviation remains the safest form of transportation in India by far, with significantly fewer fatalities than motor vehicles and trains. But after a series of quality control incidents, including the Air India plane crash of June 12, and the landing of an IndiGo plane in Srinagar in May with its nose broken, passenger preference of using air travel in India is shifting.

Shift in travel mode

This week saw many travellers rearranging flights after cancellation. Domestic airlines in India have witnessed a 15-20 percent rise in cancellations, following the crash of Air India flight AI 171 as domestic passengers are rescheduling flights to avoid flying on Boeing aircraft while some are avoiding air travel itself, senior executives from domestic carriers told Moneycontrol.

Data from the MoCA shows that Indian airports saw footfalls of 10.16 lakh, 9.92 lakh, 9.94 lakh and 9.83 lakh on June 6, June 7, June 8 and June 9, respectively, but saw them fall to 9.79 lakh, 9.79 lakh and 9.51 lakh on June 13, 14 and 15, respectively.

Domestic travel agents are also not optimistic about cancellations slowing down anytime soon, particularly because the incident occurred during peak summer travel and has shaken traveller confidence, said Dr Vandana Singh Chairperson Aviation Cargo, Federation of Aviation Industry in India (FAII).

She added that such high-visibility incidents prompt emotional and psychological responses.

"Indian passengers, especially families, are reconsidering non-essential travel and even choosing rail alternatives for shorter distances. Internationally, India-bound traffic may witness a temporary dip of 4–6 percent over the next two weeks, especially among tourists with flexible travel plans," she said.

Google search on aviation-related terms

After the crash of Air India flight AI171 in Ahmedabad, many people turned to Google to learn more about it. Searches for “Air India flight cancellation” are soaring in India, increasing by 1,000 percent between 13:30 IST to 14:30 IST on June 12.

Interest in the topic continued to rise throughout the day, ending with a 610 percent increase by 21:30 IST. This showed that people were worried and unsure about flying. The following morning, search interest grew again, reaching 670 percent higher by 08:30 IST and 760 percent higher by 12:30 IST. Even on June 14, there was still a noticeable interest, with a 500 percent rise between 11:30 IST and 12:30 IST.

Aviation-related search terms, many of which had seen little activity in the days leading up to the crash, suddenly saw enormous jumps.

The word ‘cadaver‘, likely driven by reports of fatalities and identification challenges, saw over a 600 percent surge in search interest. ‘Boeing 737', the aircraft model at the centre of the crash, rose by 500 percent, as did ‘black box‘, ‘aircraft cabin‘, and ‘flight number‘, signalling an appetite for technical insights associated with the crash investigations.

Other prominent search terms that recorded a significant hike include ‘AI171‘, ‘DGCA investigation‘, ‘flight data recorder‘ and ‘black box found‘.

Ripple effect

According to Singh, the crash will have a multi-dimensional impact. Immediate consequences include short-term drop in bookings for regional and budget carriers operating Boeing aircraft.

Tourism-heavy states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Goa may see marginal cancellations from inbound flyers. Aviation insurance premiums and airline operational costs may increase due to intensified safety protocols. Cargo operations, particularly pharma and textiles from Gujarat, will also take a temporary hit due to reduced lift capacity from Ahmedabad.

She also noted the visible ripple effect in the wake of the Ahmedabad crash involving a Boeing 787.

"Airlines such as SpiceJet, Akasa, and Air India, all of which operate Boeing fleets, have initiated internal reviews and heightened safety checks. While no blanket grounding has occurred, we are seeing operational disruptions. As per initial reports until mid-day (June 13), over 24 flights from these carriers were either delayed or cancelled from Ahmedabad, Delhi, and Mumbai combined, citing operational and safety review reasons. This number could rise as DGCA audits progress. Airlines are also reallocating aircraft to manage capacity while investigations continue."

Last year, online travel booking website Kayak had seen an uptick in users who are filtering out Boeing airplane when searching for flights after the Alaska Airlines' 737 MAX aircraft saw its door plug — an exit sealed with a panel rather than used as a door — blow out about halfway down the fuselage of the aircraft.

Kayak has shifted the filter up on its website to make it more prominent and added the ability to check specifically for the 737 MAX 8 and MAX 9 models. Internova Travel Group, which represents more than 100,000 travel advisors worldwide, had also said that it has seen more queries about plane models.

"The consumer who is aware of the situation is asking our agents, 'is this an impacted plane?'" Peter Vlitas, an executive at the company, had said.