Air India Delhi–Vancouver flight returns after 7 hours due to operational issue

An Air India flight from Delhi to Vancouver returned after over seven hours in the air due to an operational issue. The aircraft turned back over Chinese airspace and landed safely, with passengers later flown out the next morning.

New Delhi: After being airborne for over seven hours, an Air India plane from Delhi to Vancouver returned to the national capital on Thursday evening due to an operational issue.

Without providing specific details, Air India, in a statement on Friday, said the aircraft landed safely at the Delhi airport.

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The flight was operated with Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft VT-AEI and was airborne for over seven hours. The plane turned back to Delhi when it was in the Chinese airspace, according to information available on the flight tracking website Flightradar24.com.

“Air India flight AI185, operating from Delhi to Vancouver on 19 March, returned to Delhi due to an operational issue and in line with established standard operating procedures. The aircraft landed safely, and all passengers and crew had disembarked,” the airline said in a statement.

A source said that there might have been an administrative issue in terms of the aircraft deployed, which led to the decision to return to Delhi.

Further details, such as the reason for the air turn and the number of passengers on board the plane, could not be ascertained.

Meanwhile, Air India also said the flight departed for Vancouver with the passengers on Friday morning.