Welcome
Hello and welcome to the August issue of Airliner World, incorporating Airports of the World. The global aviation community was shaken on June 12 by the tragic loss of Air India Flight 171. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, VT-ANB (c/n 36279), was operating from Ahmedabad to London/Gatwick when it crashed shortly after take-off, resulting in the loss of 241 out of 242 people on board and at least 38 more on the ground. It marks one of the worst air disasters in recent Indian history. Our thoughts are with all those affected by the crash. The cause of the accident remains under investigation. However, what is clear is that this incident comes at a pivotal moment for Air India. In the last three years, the airline has been undergoing a multi-billion-dollar high-profile transformation – dubbed Vihaan.AI – under the ownership of Tata Group, which aims to shake off decades of underperformance and emerge as a world-class flag carrier. That journey, though far from complete, had been gaining some serious momentum in recent years. This tragedy is not only a human catastrophe, but also a critical test of the airline’s ability to retain hard-earned public trust.