Dreamliner grounding hits India-Australia air connectivity

The grounding of Air India’s Dreamliner fleet has hampered the much-awaited proposal of direct flight connectivity between India and Australia, a top Australian diplomat has said.

The direct flight service is essential between the two countries as in and out-bound tourist traffic is increasing with each passing year, said Lachlan Strahan, the Deputy Head of Mission at Australian High Commission in New Delhi.

“India said it would launch direct flights from New Delhi to Melbourne and Sydney three or four times a week. They were planning to use Dreamliners and they had some problems with the battery of Dreamliner,” Strahan said.

“India has not indicated when they are going to start the operations. As per schedule, they are supposed to start by the end of March,” the diplomat said on Saturday evening.

When contacted, an Air India spokesperson said they have already applied for the summer schedule to the Director-General of Civil Aviation and it includes direct flights to Sydney and Melbourne using Dreamliners.