Air India flight returns to Delhi after technical issue, after being airborne for 7 hours

A London-bound Air India flight returned to Delhi after being airborne for nearly seven hours. The incident took place on Thursday (March 26) and turned back after being airborne for around 3,300 km before turning back mid-air

An Air India aircraft en route to London returned to Delhi on Thursday (March 26) following a technical issue after being airborne for nearly seven hours. Following the incident, the aircraft reportedly landed safely and is currently undergoing extensive technical evaluation.

According to Air India’s reports, the aircraft took off from Delhi around 6 am on Thursday (March 26) and landed back at around 12:30 pm. It was on its way to London’s Heathrow. According to data, the Air India aircraft flew for around 3,300 km before turning back mid-air.

Notably, this is the second time that a similar situation has taken place in a week. The same flight faced an issue on March 15, following which the plane operating the flight from New York to Delhi was diverted to the Irish town of Shannon, the report added.

Airborne for seven hours

After takeoff, the aircraft was reportedly in the air for about seven hours. It is to be noted that the London-bound flight was made to make a turnaround while it was flying over Saudi Arabian airspace, which had recently been affected due to the Iran war.

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While it takes around six to seven hours to reach London from Saudi Arabia, Air India took the longer way back to Delhi. The company has not provided any reason for the decision to take the long way back to Delhi.

An Air India spokesperson said its flight AI111, operating from Delhi to London on Thursday, made a precautionary return to the national capital following a suspected technical issue. According to sources, noises were heard in the aircraft following which it was diverted.

“The aircraft landed safely and consistent with Air India’s high safety standards, it is currently subject to extensive technical evaluations, which will require additional time to complete,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Wrong aircraft deployed for operating to Vancouver

The incident comes just a week after the airline sent the wrong aircraft to operate a flight to Vancouver, Canada. A Vancouver-bound Air India Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft, after being airborne for over seven hours, returned to Delhi on March 19 after it was found that the plane was not approved for operating the flight. The approval is only for Boeing 777-300 ER to operate that flight.

Following the incident, the Aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) asked Air India to take corrective measures. According to a PTI report quoting senior DGCA officials, action has been taken against an official for the incident.

Following the incident, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had sought a report from the airline.

With inputs from agencies

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The Times Of Bengal