New Delhi: In a highly unusual operational lapse, an Air India flight destined for Vancouver was forced to return to Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Friday, nearly nine hours after its initial departure. The long-haul flight, operated by a Boeing 777 aircraft, was redirected mid-air after the airline discovered that the wrong aircraft variant had been deployed for the specific route.
According to a report by the Free Press Journal, flight AI185 departed the national capital with a full complement of passengers, heading toward the Canadian west coast. However, as the aircraft approached the halfway mark of its journey, the carrier realized the specific plane lacked the necessary performance capabilities or technical certifications required for that particular trans-Pacific flight path.
The decision to turn back resulted in a total flight time of approximately nine hours, only for the passengers to land exactly where they started. Aviation sources cited by the Free Press Journal indicated that the mix-up involved a technical mismatch between the aircraft’s fuel efficiency or load capacity and the ultra-long-range requirements of the Delhi-Vancouver sector.
An Air India spokesperson expressed regret for the significant inconvenience caused to travelers, noting that the “wrong aircraft deployment” was an administrative error. Upon returning to Delhi, the airline reportedly made arrangements for a replacement aircraft to complete the journey and provided hotel accommodations and refreshments to the stranded passengers. While the airline has initiated an internal review to prevent a recurrence of such an oversight, the incident has raised questions regarding the carrier’s dispatch and scheduling protocols for its international operations.
Also Read: Mamata Releases TMC Manifesto, Claims ‘Unofficial President’s Rule’ Imposed In Poll-Bound Bengal
-
-
-
-
