Mumbai: An Air India flight bound for Newark in the United States had to return to Mumbai shortly after take-off on Tuesday due to a suspected technical issue, the airline said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The crew of flight AI191, operating from Mumbai to Newark on 22 October, made a precautionary air-return to Mumbai due to a suspected technical issue. The flight landed safely back in Mumbai, and the aircraft is undergoing necessary inspections,” Air India said.
The airline did not provide details on the total number of passengers on board or the exact times of departure and return. Normally, flight AI191 departs Mumbai at 01:10 hours (IST) and reaches Newark at 07:55 hours (EDT).
Following the precautionary return, the corresponding return flight from Newark to Mumbai, AI144, was also cancelled.
This incident follows a similar situation last Friday, when an Air India flight to Delhi experienced a technical snag at Milan airport, leaving over 250 passengers stranded abroad just ahead of Diwali. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner (VT-ANN) encountered the issue upon landing in Milan, preventing it from operating the return journey to Delhi.
Air India arranged an additional flight from Milan to Delhi on October 19 to bring back 256 passengers stranded since October 17. The airline said it had provided immediate assistance, including hotel accommodation, meals, full refunds, or complimentary rescheduling based on passenger preference.
A similar technical issue had also affected the same route on August 16, resulting in flight cancellation. According to Air India, maintenance tasks identified just before departure delayed the flight, causing the operating crew to exceed mandatory flight duty time limits, making it unsafe and impermissible to continue the journey.
With IANS inputs