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Air India said 16 of its flights were disrupted or diverted due to the closure of Iranian airspace following escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.
A photo of an Air India flight (PTI)
Multiple Air India flights were either diverted or were returning to their origin in the wake of the closure of Iran’s airspace, the airline said on Friday.
“We regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers due to this unforeseen disruption and are making every effort to minimise it, including providing accommodation for passengers,” Air India said.
Air India listed 16 of its flights affected due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran.
- AI130 – London Heathrow-Mumbai – Diverted to Vienna
- AI102 – New York-Delhi – Diverted to Sharjah
- AI116 – New York-Mumbai – Diverted to Jeddah
- AI2018 – London Heathrow-Delhi – Diverted to Mumbai
- AI129 – Mumbai-London Heathrow – Returning to Mumbai
- AI119 – Mumbai-New York – Returning to Mumbai
- AI103 – Delhi-Washington – Returning to Delhi
- AI106 – Newark-Delhi – Returning to Delhi
- AI188 – Vancouver-Delhi – Diverting to Jeddah
- AI101 – Delhi-New York – Diverting to Frankfurt/Milan
- AI126 – Chicago-Delhi – Diverting to Jeddah
- AI132 – London Heathrow-Bengaluru – Diverted to Sharjah
- AI2016 – London Heathrow-Delhi – Diverted to Vienna
- AI104 – Washington-Delhi – Diverted to Vienna
- AI190 – Toronto-Delhi – Diverted to Frankfurt
- AI189 – Delhi-Toronto – Returning to Delhi
Earlier today, data on Flightradar24 showed multiple flights returning to India. However, the reasons were not immediately known.
WHAT HAPPENED IN IRAN?
Israel said it targeted Iran‘s nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders on Friday at the start of what it warned would be a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon.
Iranian media and witnesses reported explosions, including at the country’s main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, while Israel declared a state of emergency in anticipation of retaliatory missile and drone strikes.
Iranian state television reported that Hossein Salami, the chief of the elite Revolutionary Guards corps, had been killed and the unit’s headquarters in Tehran had been hit. Several children had been killed in a strike on a residential area in the capital, it said.
“We are at a decisive moment in Israel’s history,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a recorded video message.
AIR INDIA CRASH IN AHMEDABAD
Thursday’s Air India crash killed 241 on board the ill-fated flight, leaving one survivor, who was receiving treatment at a hospital.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner (AI 171), with 242 people onboard, including Gujarat’s former Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, crashed into a medical college complex in the Meghaninagar area moments after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.
Later, it was revealed that the flight was carrying 168 Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian.
The aircraft could be seen from afar, losing altitude rapidly and crashing in a ball of fire that sent plumes of thick black smoke spiralling up in the air.
Four MBBS students and a doctor’s wife were among those killed at the complex of BJ Medical College outside the airport perimeter, news agency PTI quoted an official as saying.
The operation to clear the site of the crash continued overnight and is in the last stages, the official said on Friday.
In the latest, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Ahmedabad on Friday morning.
Earlier, Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting with Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and obtained detailed information regarding the entire incident.
Shah said on Thursday that there was no chance of saving anyone in the London-bound Air India plane crash because of the high temperature caused by the burning of almost 1.25 lakh litres of fuel in the aircraft.
Expressing condolences to family members of those killed, Shah said the exact number of deaths will be officially released only after DNA tests.
Air India Flight Crash: Visuals From Rescue Ops And Civil Hospital In Ahmedabad
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
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