Air India Flight From Delhi To London Makes U-Turn Over Saudi Arabia After 7 Hours In Air Due To Technical Snag

New Delhi: An Air India flight (AI 111) en route to London reportedly returned to Delhi on Thursday after being airborne for around seven hours due to a technical snag. According to sources quoted by news agency PTI, the AI 111 flight made a U-turn after noises were heard in the aircraft.

Flightradar data revealed that the A350 aircraft, en route to Heathrow Airport, made a turnaround while it was flying over Saudi Arabian airspace, which was recently affected due to the Iran war.

However, an Air India spokesperson said the flight made a precautionary return to Delhi's IGI Airport after a suspected technical issue.

"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," the statement said.

The spokesperson said all assistance, including refreshments, was being provided to the passengers.

This is the second time in exactly 10 days that a new Airbus A350 (VT-JRF) of Air India could not complete its long journey due to turbulence, excessive vibration, and noise in the belly hold section.

The exact same issue took place on March 16 when VT-JRF was flying from New York to Delhi.