{"id":156248,"date":"2026-08-31T19:40:57","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T14:10:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/?p=156248"},"modified":"2026-08-31T19:41:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T14:11:04","slug":"air-indias-uk-passenger-recovery-stalls-after-2025-ahmedabad-crash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/31\/air-indias-uk-passenger-recovery-stalls-after-2025-ahmedabad-crash\/","title":{"rendered":"Air India\u2019s UK Passenger Recovery Stalls After 2025 Ahmedabad Crash"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

AHMEDABAD\u2014<\/strong> Air India (AI) <\/a>is struggling to rebuild passenger confidence on the India-UK market more than a year after the fatal crash of its London-bound Boeing 787-8 shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad Airport (AMD)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The June 12, 2025 accident killed 260 people and became a major setback for the airline as it pursued an ambitious international expansion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The impact has become increasingly visible in passenger traffic data. Cirium figures show that Air India recorded strong year-on-year growth on India-UK services during the first five months of 2025, but passenger numbers began falling from August, with the decline continuing into 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: By Kambui – Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner \nCC BY 2.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=58290529<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Air India’s UK Traffic Falls<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Air India carried 85,024 passengers between India and the UK<\/a> in August 2025, compared with 96,576 during the same month a year earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

September traffic dropped from 100,559 to 81,291 passengers, while October recorded another decline of about 14%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The passenger decline was larger than the reduction in available capacity. In August and September, Air India reduced seats by only about 4% year-on-year, while passenger numbers fell 11% and 19%, respectively, suggesting weaker demand rather than capacity cuts alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was a brief improvement during the winter travel period. November traffic reached 107,568 passengers, only 0.7% below the previous year’s figure, before the gap widened again to 7% in December, Independent UK<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Air
Photo: Devin | BoeingSCSpotter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2026 Recovery Stalls<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The recovery has remained incomplete in 2026. Air India carried 77,822 passengers on the India-UK market in April, about 27% fewer than in April 2025, even though its seat capacity declined by less than 10%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May produced a similar result, with passenger numbers falling almost 25% year-on-year to 74,499. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Capacity declined by roughly 11%, again indicating that the fall in traffic was significantly greater than the reduction in seats offered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Air India also faces stronger competition from foreign carriers. Other international airlines operating between India and the UK recorded passenger growth of 11.9% year-on-year in both November and December 2025, while their capacity increased by roughly 10%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Mumbai Planes | Siddh Dhuri<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Air India Rebuilds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Air India has attempted to strengthen its UK network and improve the onboard product as it seeks to restore confidence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The airline expanded Delhi-London Heathrow (LHR)<\/a> service to four daily flights from October 2025, adding 1,196 seats each way per week and deploying Airbus A350-900 and Boeing 787-9 aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, passenger recovery has coincided with wider operational and financial pressures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Air India and Air India Express recorded combined losses of $2.33 billion for the financial year ended March 2026, while the group is seeking about $1.5 billion in additional equity from Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The airline says its transformation is improving customer sentiment. Its UK Net Promoter Score rose from -46 in FY24 to +2 in FY26 and reached +13 in FY27 year-to-date, while the London-route score improved from -45 to +21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Air India is also planning to add about 100 aircraft across the group in 2027 and 2028 while retrofitting 16 Boeing 787 Dreamliners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The scale of that programme highlights the airline’s attempt to rebuild its international network while addressing the passenger confidence challenge left by the 2025 Ahmedabad crash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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