Air India is unable to fly its Dreamliners to Tokyo or Osaka because the airline failed to provide Japanese authorities with the information they required about its B787 modifications, it has been reported.
The state-owned airline had also planned to deploy Boeing 787s on its Delhi-Hong Kong-Osaka and Delhi-Hong Kong-Seoul routes from late June (see news, June 11).
But Japanese aviation officials are said to be refusing to allow Air India to operate the aircraft until they receive a list of all modifications carried out.
An Air India source told news agency PTI: "The civil aviation authorities of Japan had sought certain documents from Air India on the modifications carried out in the aircraft it intended to operate.
"But despite repeated communications, the AI management failed to furnish the required information. Moreover, agitated over the AI's management unresponsive attitude, the Japanese also decided not to interact with Air India and communicate only with India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation."
Business Traveller asked Air India for a comment but a spokesman was unavailable.
The airline has seven Dreamliners in its fleet. Each aircraft has 18 fully-flat business seats configured 2-2-2, and 238 economy seats configured 3-3-3.1 It currently flies B787s to London, Paris, Frankfurt, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai.
Graham Smith
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