Air India flight going to London returned to Delhi after technical glitch

New Delhi: A London-bound Air India flight (AI 111) returned to Delhi on Thursday afternoon. The flight returned after being in the air for about seven hours due to a technical glitch. Flightradar data showed the A350 aircraft en route to Heathrow Airport made a U-turn while flying over Saudi Arabian airspace, which has recently been affected by the Iran war.

Returned back to Delhi after flying for seven hours

According to the information, the London bound flight took off from Delhi at 6.13 am on Thursday and landed at around 1.20 pm. The data revealed that the Air India aircraft flew approximately 3,300 km and then returned back into the air. It takes approximately 6-7 hours to reach London from Saudi Arabia.

The flight, AI111, was operated by an Airbus A350-900 aircraft. An Air India spokesperson said that after receiving indications of a possible technical problem mid-air, the decision to return to the national capital Delhi was taken as a precautionary measure. The aircraft landed safely at Delhi Airport and in accordance with the high safety standards of Air India, it is currently undergoing a thorough technical inspection, which will take some more time.

Strange sounds heard in Saudi airspace

According to the information received, when the plane was flying over the airspace of Saudi Arabia, strange sounds were reported coming from inside the plane. After this, the crew decided to return back to Delhi to ensure the safety of the passengers. An airline spokesperson expressed regret at the inconvenience caused to passengers. The airline said it is taking all necessary steps to minimize the inconvenience to passengers and make onward travel arrangements to send them to London as soon as possible.

The plane has had technical problems before

This is not the first time that an Air India aircraft has had a technical fault. Earlier this month, a similar problem was encountered during the flight from New York to Delhi on March 15. At that time, the plane was diverted to the city of Shannon, Ireland.