NEW DELHI: Air India said that Flight AI171, operating from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, was “involved in an incident” shortly after takeoff on Thursday.“Flight AI171, operating Ahmedabad-London Gatwick, was involved in an incident today, 12 June 2025. At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates at the earliest,” an Air India spokesperson said in a post on X.In a separate post the airlines said, “The flight, which departed from Ahmedabad at 13:38 hours, was carrying 242 passengers and crew on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft.”Air India also provided details on the passengers’ nationalities onboard, saying there were “169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals.”The airline confirmed that all injured passengers are being taken to nearby hospitals for treatment.“The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals. Air India will release further information via regular updates on its X handle,” it added.The flight, operated by a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner capable of carrying over 200 passengers. Visuals on social media showed thick black smoke over the Ahmedabad airport.“Air India B787 Aircraft VT-ANB, while operating flight AI-171 from (Ahmedabad to Gatwick) has crashed immediately after takeoff from Ahmedabad,” the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had earlier said in a statement.“There were 242 people on board, including two pilots and ten cabin crew members. The flight was commanded by Capt. Sumeet Sabharwal, with First Officer Clive Kundar as co-pilot,” DGCA added.In response to the incident, the DGCA confirmed that three National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, comprising around 90 personnel were deployed from Gandhinagar to the crash site.Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport flight operations have been temporarily non-operational, and all flights are halted until further notice.For families seeking updates, Air India said, “We have also set up a dedicated passenger hotline number 1800 5691 444 to provide more information. Air India is giving its full cooperation to the authorities investigating this incident.”
