In a terrible tragedy, Air India Express Flight IX-1344 from Dubai to Calicut experienced a runway excursion and crashed after landing at about 1941h IST on 7 Aug 2020.
As per official reports, 18 of the 190 on board, including both pilots, perished in the crash while over 120 have sustained injuries.
This is India’s worst passenger aircraft accident since 2010, when another Air India Express flight from Dubai overshot the runway at Mangalore and slid down a hill, killing 158 people.
Air India has been at the forefront of repatriation flights launched by the Indian government under ‘Vande Bharat Mission’.
These flights are a matter of pride — it is part of a national mission to get every Indian home.
Every airline would like to fly them. But for unknown reasons, there are nominations in favour of the national carrier Air India and its offspring Air India Express.