Why Air India has 'blacked out' its social media following major plane crash with over 200 passengers

Following the tragic news that one of its commercial jets has crashed during a journey from Ahmedabad to Gatwick Airport, Air India has 'blacked out' its social media profile.

The airline first confirmed the news that a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner carrying over 240 passengers had plummeted into a residential area close to the airport on X (formerly Twitter): "Flight AI171, operating Ahmedabad-London Gatwick, was involved in an incident today, 12 June 2025."

Flight Radar - the global flight tracking website - later revealed that the flight was intended to depart at 09:50 local time, and scheduled to arrive in the UK at 18:25.

Sadly, however, 'the last signal' they received from the aircraft 'was at 08:08:51 UTC just seconds after take off', before the Boeing crashed 'into a doctors' hostel' just outside of the airport minutes later.

All 242 passengers are believed to be dead (Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The aircraft was carrying 242 people, including crew. Air India has since confirmed there were 169 Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese and one Canadian on board.

A police commissioner has since told the Associated Press that there do not appear to have been any survivors from the crash.

“It appears there are no survivors in the plane crash,” Commissioner G.S. Malik told the outlet, adding that the fact the plane collided with a residential area, 'some locals would have also died'.

"Exact figures on casualties are being ascertained," Mailk continued.

Following the news, social media followers of Air India noticed that the airline had changed its display image, replacing it with a black screen.

Such was also the case for the travel firm's 'banner image' on X, which was also 'blacked out'.

Sharing a screengrab of the airline's darkened new profile, one local journalist predicted: "Air India blackens its handle to X in mourning."

The Air India 'blackout' may be a tribute to the lives lost (X)

Another X user noted: "Subsidiary @AirIndiaX has gone grey too. This practice is a way of expressing grief and pausing regular social media activity to show respect for the situation."

Whilst Air India haven't confirmed said speculation, it's likely that the decision was made to provide a symbolic gesture for the devastating loss of life - which is also the first fatal incident for the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner since 2011.

Other airlines have made the same alteration following similarly tragic incidents, an example being British Airways, which used blacked-out logos to mourn losses following the 1985 Lockerbie bombing.

In the hours following the crash, police in India subsequently went on to release a list of individuals said to have been 'injured' in the collision.

It hasn't yet been made clear, however, whether the list in question refers to those on board the plane, or individuals that resided inside the building the plane crashed into.

The flight crashed into a 'doctors' hostel' (Central Industrial Security Force / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Air India's chairman, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, previously released an emotional statement on the matter of today's crash.

"With profound sorrow I confirm that Air India flight, AI 171 operating Ahmedabad London Gatwick was involved in a tragic accident today," he penned. "Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event."

Chandrasekaran's message continued: "At this moment, our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families.

"We are doing everything in our power to assist the emergency response teams at the site and to provide all necessary support and care to those impacted.

"Further updates will be shared as we receive more verified information. An emergency centre has been activated and support team have been set up for families."