An Air India plane en route to London returned to Delhi on Thursday after a technical issue, after nearly seven hours in the air. The plane reportedly landed safely and is currently undergoing extensive technical evaluation.
The Air India A350 aircraft took off from Delhi around 6 am on Thursday and landed again at around 12.30 pm. PTI news agency reported that the plane was on its way to London Heathrow Airport and returned to the national capital after a technical problem.
The report added that the same flight also encountered a problem on March 15, after which the plane operating the flight from New York to Delhi was diverted to the Irish city of Shannon.
Speaking about the issue, an Air India spokesperson said that flight AI 111 from Delhi to London made a precautionary flight back to the national capital after a technical issue was suspected.
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“The aircraft landed safely and, in line with Air India’s high safety standards, is currently undergoing extensive technical evaluations,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying. He also added that the evaluation would take additional time to complete.
It was airborne for seven hours before landing back
After take-off, the plane was said to have remained in the air for approximately four hours before a decision was made to divert. The plane was in Saudi airspace at the time. In all, the plane was airborne for about seven hours before landing again in the national capital, according to information available on flight tracking website Flightradar24.com.
The Pakistani News Agency reported, quoting sources, that while the plane was taking off, sounds were heard, and its course was subsequently diverted.
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The spokesman expressed his regret for the inconvenience caused to passengers due to the unexpected situation, and said that the airline is making every effort to ensure that passengers are able to continue their journey to London as soon as possible.
No further details were revealed about the number of passengers on board.
Air India will begin operating the A350-900 aircraft from January 2024.
