AIR INDIA FLIGHT SCARE: An Air India plane (AI 111) bound to London made a landing in Delhi on Thursday afternoon after an estimated seven-hour journey, due to a technical malfunction.
London-bound Air India flight makes U-turn over Saudi Arabia
According to Flightradar, the aircraft A350 was heading to Heathrow but instead of landing there, it turned around when it was flying over Saudi Arabian airspace, which has recently been impacted by the war in Iran.
It is the second instance within a week that an Air India flight has gone round mid-air due to technical problems.
The Air India flight heading to London had left Delhi at 6.13 am on Thursday and landed approximately 1.20 pm, data revealed that the Air India aircraft had covered some 3,300 km before it had to make a turn back mid-air.
Flight returns after 7 hours
From Saudi Arabia, it is approximately 6-7 hours to London. Air India has not provided any excuse as to why they chose to fly back to Delhi the long way.
According to sources, the AI 111 flight had turned around due to a sound in the plane.
The same problem was experienced with this plane earlier in flight AI102 (New York, JFK-Delhi) on March 16. Maintenance/inspection was then performed on the aircraft in consultation with Airbus and no deficiencies were found.
The plane has since completed ten flights without incident.
It is the same plane, with registration of VT-JRF, which was diverted to Shannon in Ireland on its way to New York via New Delhi. It occurred on March 15. Air India too by now had said it was because of a technical problem.
Air India issues statement
An Air India spokesperson, however, added that the flight made a precautionary landing at the IGI Airport in Delhi after a suspected technical problem.
The aircraft landed safely and, in line with the high security measures at Air India, the aircraft is undergoing rigorous technical reviews and it will take time to go through the reviews, as it is still in progress, the statement said.
The spokesperson added that refreshments were being served to the passengers along with all other assistance.
The plane had been in the air about four hours, when the turnaround decision was made. All in all the plane had been flying almost seven hours.
What happened earlier?
The event is almost a week after an Air India plane that was heading towards Vancouver had to land back at Delhi after it had spent more than seven hours in the air.
The carrier had indicated a problem with operations. A U-turn took place when the Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft passed over Chinese airspace.
A flight by IndiGo on a Delhi- Manchester route had to abort flight after flying for around seven hours earlier this month. It came as a follow-up of last-minute airspace restrictions associated with the Iran war, which has swept the entire Middle East.
(With inputs from agencies)
