Air India restores its final grounded aircraft: VT-ALL returns to the skies

Air India has just marked a major milestone in its fleet revival journey: the return of VT‑ALL, a Boeing 777‑300ER, which was the last of 30 long‑grounded aircraft inherited when the airline rejoined the Tata Group in 2022.

Final grounded aircraft restored:
VT‑ALL had been grounded since February 2020. Its return completes the revival of all 30 aircraft that had been out of service.

Massive overhaul:
The restoration involved installing 3,000+ new components, completing 4,000+ maintenance tasks, and carrying out 80 mandated modifications, including the complex Longeron structural reinforcement.

Systems rebuilt:
Major assemblies like engines, APU, thrust reversers, and cowls were replaced, alongside a full rebuild of air‑conditioning, hydraulics, avionics, and landing gear systems.

Engineering collaboration:
Teams across Air India’s maintenance, planning, procurement, CAMO, and quality assurance worked seamlessly, with technical guidance from Boeing and oversight by DGCA.

Airworthiness certified:
VT‑ALL successfully completed its test flight and received the Airworthiness Review Certificate (ARC), clearing it for regular operations.

Symbolic achievement:
The completion of this six‑year effort underscores Air India’s renewed engineering excellence and India’s growing capability in high‑complexity aircraft maintenance.

This restoration not only strengthens Air India’s long‑haul fleet but also symbolizes the airline’s transformation under Tata ownership.