India, June 20 -- Air India on Friday cancelled eight flights - four of them on international routes - citing operational reasons. The move comes amid a nearly 20 per cent drop in overall bookings, as the effects of last week's Ahmedabad plane crash begin to show.

London-bound Air India flight AI-171 carrying 242 passengers and crew, crashed in Gujarat's Ahmedabad on June 12. Tragically, all but one passenger lost their lives, along with nearly 29 people on the ground, when the plane went down on a medical college complex shortly after take-off.

The Delhi-Pune flight was cancelled after the airline, on its arrival from Delhi, detected that it had a bird hit. Consequently, it was grounded for extensive inspection.

Tata-owned Air India s...