Air India suspends Washington Dulles flights amid Boeing 787 cabin upgrade

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Air India suspends Washington Dulles flights amid Boeing 787 cabin upgrade

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Air India | Official Website

By Sky Industry News

Aug 20, 2025

Air India will suspend its flights between Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport starting September 1. The suspension is indefinite as the airline begins updating the interiors of its Boeing 787 fleet.

The airline explained that this move is due to a "planned shortfall" in available long-haul aircraft caused by an interior retrofit program. Additionally, Air India cited longer flight times resulting from Pakistan closing its airspace to Indian airlines since May.

Another factor in reduced aircraft availability was the loss of one Boeing 787 after an accident involving Air India flight AI171 at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad on June 12.

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Speaking at the International Air Transport Association's annual meeting in Delhi earlier this year, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said the retrofits for the 787s would start in July or August and are expected to continue through 2027. He also noted that seat production issues had delayed these updates by one to two years.

The goal of the project is to bring the interiors of Air India's Boeing 777s and 787s up to par with those found on its Airbus A350-900 aircraft. According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, these A350s currently operate routes from Delhi to Dubai, London Heathrow, Newark Liberty, and New York John F. Kennedy airports.

Air India did not specify why it chose to halt only the Delhi-Washington route while maintaining service to Chicago O'Hare, Newark Liberty, JFK, and San Francisco airports.

Currently, Air India's flight between Delhi and Washington operates three times a week—on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays—and stops for refueling at Vienna Airport when traveling westbound from Delhi.

The airline stated it will provide affected passengers with alternative flights or full refunds.