India, June 19 -- On Wednesday, the mortal remains of Javed Ali Syed, his wife Mariam Ali, and their two young children-six-year-old Amani and four-year-old Zayn-returned not to their home in London, but to a quiet neighbourhood in Goregaon East. The family perished in the crash of Air India flight AI 171, which took off from Ahmedabad bound for London but went down shortly after takeoff, claiming the lives of all on board.

With no direct return flights available from Mumbai, Javed, who had settled in the UK more than a decade ago, chose to travel via Ahmedabad. That detour proved fatal.

Javed had moved to the UK for a master's degree 12 years ago and built a life there, eventually becoming a citizen and working as a hotel manager at th...