Air India drops flight number AI-171 following Ahmedabad crash tragedy

Preliminary data from Flightradar24 shows that the aircraft began a slow descent shortly after takeoff at 1:38 pm.

In the aftermath of the tragic plane crash in Ahmedabad that claimed 274 lives, including those on ground, Air India has decided to discontinue the flight number ‘AI-171’. The decision is a part of the airline’s attempt to minimise any potential distress for its consumers.

The Ahmedabad to London Gatwick flight will now operate under the number AI-159.

Sources on Saturday told news agency PTI that it is a general practice that airlines stop using particular flight numbers after fatal flight accidents.

The discontinuation of the flight number is also a mark of respect for the departed souls.

The tragic incident took place on Thursday as the London-bound Air India flight left from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad. Within moments after takeoff, the flight crashed resulting in the loss of 241 passengers and many more on ground. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was carrying 169 Indian nationals, 53 British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian.

The aircraft exploded after colliding with a hostel building of a nearby medical college.

A former airline official told Hindustan Times that changing a flight number following a tragedy is a common practice to avoid reviving traumatic memories for passengers. “It is also a way to disassociate the route from the tragedy in the minds of passengers and travellers,” the official explained.

Meanwhile, the government has constituted a high-level multidisciplinary committee for examining the causes leading to the crash of Air India flight AI-171. The committee will be headed by the Home Secretary and will include representatives from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Indian Air Force and aviation experts.

Renumbering flights after major accidents is not unprecedented. After the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in 2014, the airline replaced the Kuala Lumpur–Beijing route number with MH318. Similarly, Lion Air changed its flight number from JT610 to JT618 after the 2018 crash in the Java Sea that killed all 189 people on board.