Air India aircraft enroute to London returns to Delhi due to technical issue after being airborne for 7 hrs

The aircraft operating the flight AI111 was airborne for around four hours before the decision was taken to divert the plane when it was in the Saudi Arabia airspace.

An Air India's A350 aircraft enroute to London Heathrow returned to Delhi due to a technical issue on Thursday afternoon after being airborne for nearly seven hours.

The same A350-900 aircraft VT-JRF had also faced a technical issue on March 15 as well, following which the plane operating the flight from New York to Delhi was diverted to the Irish town of Shannon.

A spokesperson for the airlines, said that flight AI111, operating from Delhi to London on Thursday, made a precautionary air-return to the national capital after a suspected technical issue.

The spokesperson said, "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."

Noises were heard in the aircraft after which the flight was diverted.

Regretting the inconvenience caused, the airline spokesperson said that Air India is making every effort to ensure passengers are able to continue their journey to London at the earliest.

The flight was airborne for around 4 hours before the decision was taken to divert the plane when it was in the Saudi Arabia airspace.

In total, the plane was airborne for nearly seven hours before landing back in Delhi.

The flight had taken off from Delhi around 6 am on Thursday and landed back at about 12.30 pm.

(With PTI inputs)