Emergency landings, U-turn, tech glitches... What's going on with Air India?

Since the deadly plane crash in Ahmedabad, at least five Air India flights have been under scrutiny. A flight from San Francisco to Mumbai via Kolkata experienced a technical issue early Tuesday, and passengers were required to deplane. Another Delhi-bound plane took a U-turn to Hong Kong on Monday, and there have been reports of delays. read more
Early Tuesday, Air India flight AI180 — flying from San Francisco to Mumbai via Kolkata — faced a technical snag in its left engine, forcing all passengers to deboard. File image/PTI
In the span of just a few days, Air India has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
Since the deadly crash of Flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London, which shocked the nation and claimed over 270 lives, the skies haven't been calm for the airline.
One after another, several Air India flights have reported mid-air technical issues — from U-turns just minutes after takeoff to emergency landings and long delays.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
While no passengers have been hurt in these recent incidents, the sheer number of back-to-back scares has left flyers anxious. So, what is going on with Air India? Here's a closer look.
San Francisco to Mumbai via Kolkata: Trouble on the ground
Early Tuesday, passengers on Air India flight AI180 — flying from San Francisco to Mumbai via Kolkata — had an unexpected stopover drama.
During the scheduled halt in Kolkata, the aircraft developed a technical snag in its left engine, forcing all passengers to deboard. Hours passed before an announcement was made, and the captain informed flyers that the step was necessary 'in the interest of flight safety,' as reported by PTI.
A video from the airport showed ground staff inspecting the aircraft's engine on the tarmac, as the flight's onward journey to Mumbai was delayed.
Passengers being deplaned during a scheduled halt at Kolkata airport after an Air India flight from San Francisco to Mumbai suffered a technical snag in one of its engines, in Kolkata, Tuesday, June 17, 2025. PTI
Delhi to Ranchi: Flight make a U-turn mid-air
On Monday, an Air India Express flight from Delhi to Ranchi had to turn back just after takeoff due to an in-flight emergency.
The flight had departed at 4:25 pm and was expected to land in Ranchi by 6:20 pm. But shortly after takeoff, the pilots decided to return to Delhi after encountering technical difficulties, confirmed airport officials.
An airline spokesperson said, 'The aircraft returned to Delhi after takeoff due to a suspected technical issue. Post inspections and clearance, it resumed scheduled operations.'
On Monday, an Air India Express flight from Delhi to Ranchi had to turn back just after takeoff due to an in-flight emergency. File image/ PTI
Hong Kong to Delhi: Boeing 787 Dreamliner makes emergency landing
In another troubling event on the same day, an Air India flight from Hong Kong to Delhi had to make a U-turn and make an emergency landing around 90 minutes after take-off.
The pilots flagged a technical issue while cruising at 22,000 ft and could be heard telling Air Traffic Control, 'We don't want to continue further.' The Air India Flight 315 was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, the same airplane model involved in the Ahmedabad tragedy a few days ago.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Delhi to Vadodara: Landing gear scare
On Sunday evening, an Air India flight from Delhi to Vadodara (AI 819) had to turn around shortly after takeoff due to a suspected issue with its landing gear.
The Airbus A321 had just taken off from IGI Airport when the crew noticed the landing gear wasn't retracting properly. They alerted Delhi ATC and were cleared to return. The plane landed safely, and no one was harmed.
The airline later clarified that it was a precautionary move, and the flight resumed service after checks.
On Sunday evening, an Air India flight from Delhi to Vadodara (AI 819) had to turn around shortly after takeoff due to a suspected issue with its landing gear. File Photo/Reuters
Guwahati to Kolkata: Delayed, then delayed again
For passengers on Air India Express flight IX-1226 from Guwahati to Kolkata, it was a journey they'd rather forget.
The flight, scheduled to depart at 9:20 pm on Saturday, was delayed multiple times, initially due to a technical fault. Passengers were kept onboard well past midnight before being deboarded and shifted to a lounge and later a hotel, which many described as poorly maintained, with some saying it didn't even provide breakfast, PTI reported.
But the ordeal didn't end there.
The next morning, the same aircraft was used again, only to be grounded a second time due to the same problem. An alternate plane was finally arranged, and the flight took off at 3:34 pm on Sunday. Some passengers chose to fly with other airlines after being offered rescheduling and full refunds.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Air India Express later apologised and said all guests were provided with hotel stays and alternate booking options.
With the recent tragedy of the Ahmedabad crash still fresh in everyone's minds, incidents like these are only adding to Air India's mounting troubles.
With input from agencies

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Time of India

42 minutes ago

• Time of India

FATF report links dual-use equipment seized by India in 2020 to Pakistan's defence agency

India confiscated equipment from a ship bound for Pakistan in 2020. The equipment is linked to Pakistan's National Development Complex. This complex is involved in missile development. The Financial Action Task Force report highlighted this seizure. The report also pointed out vulnerabilities in preventing weapons proliferation. The seized items were mis-declared as industrial dryers. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads New Delhi: A dual-use equipment seized by India from a Pakistan-bound merchant vessel in 2020 is linked to Islamabad's National Development Complex that is involved in the country's missile development programme, a new report by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has seizure of the dual-use equipment used in developing missiles found mention in the report by the multilateral financial watchdog that highlighted vulnerabilities in the global financial report listed the case under a section on the misuse of the maritime and shipping sectors including to transport a range of commodities, including dual-use equipment."In 2020, Indian custom authorities seized an Asian-flagged ship bound for Pakistan. During an investigation, Indian authorities confirmed that documents mis-declared the shipment's dual-use items," the FATF report said."Indian investigators certified the items for shipment to be 'Autoclaves', which are used for sensitive high energy materials and for insulation and chemical coating of missile motors," the report said these sensitive items are included in dual-use export control lists of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).The bill of lading of the seized cargo provided evidence of the "link between the importer and the National Development Complex, which is involved in the development of long-range ballistic missiles," it export of equipment such as the autoclaves without formal approval from various authorities is a violation of existing law, the FATF National Development Complex (NDC) has played a crucial role in the development of Pakistan's missile had seized the dual-use equipment from merchant vessel Da Cui Yun at Kandla port in Gujarat on February 3, Indian customs authorities had stopped the vessel for wrongly declaring an autoclave, which can be used in construction of missiles, as an "industrial dryer".The report said that significant vulnerabilities remain across the global financial system in countering the financing of weapons of mass destruction (WMD)."Despite the grave threat posed by proliferation financing (PF), only 16 per cent of countries assessed by the FATF and its global network have demonstrated high or substantial effectiveness" in a process that evaluates the implementation of targeted financial sanctions under the United Nations Security Council resolutions on report said that unless the public and private sectors urgently bolster technical compliance and effectiveness, those seeking to finance WMD proliferation will continue to exploit weaknesses in existing report provided a detailed analysis of the evolving methods and techniques used to evade PF-related sanctions."Illicit actors are employing increasingly sophisticated methods to evade sanctions and circumvent export controls," it said.

Economic Times

2 hours ago

• Economic Times

India key market for MediaTek; young demographic, growing economy fuel growth: Country MD

India's booming technology sector and the young, tech-savvy population are making the country a pivotal market for global semiconductor giant MediaTek, according to company's India MD Anku Jain. India's strong economic growth and favourable demographics are driving rapid adoption of advanced technologies like 5G, smart devices, and AI-powered solutions, he said. "India is a very important market for MediaTek because it is a very huge consumption story,we can see the demographics -- which is a very young population, we can see our economy growing very fast. All these components are making the market very attractive for us," Jain told PTI. Beyond smartphones, MediaTek's chipsets power many devices, including smart TVs, tablets, chromebooks, routers, and the smart home segment. Jain noted that the company is now expanding into new verticals such as automotive, recently partnering with JioThings to develop 4G smart clusters for the two-wheeler EV segment, and supplying infotainment systems for cars like Skoda Slavia and Tata Punch EV. The company is also exploring opportunities in satellite communications, with its chipsets poised to support evolving requirements as India's satellite and IoT ecosystem grows. As per Counterpoint Research, as of April 2025, MediaTek led India's smartphone chipset market with a 45 per cent share, followed by Qualcomm at 32 per cent. The company established its first R&D centre in India in 2004 and now employs over 1,000 engineers across its Bengaluru and Noida offices. The Taiwanese firm on Friday launched the MediaTek Dimensity 8450, a 5G smartphone chip with eight Arm Cortex-A725 cores and an Arm Mali-G720 MC7 GPU. Jain outlined MediaTek's commitment to further investment in the Indian market and continued expansion of its engineering teams. The company views its Indian R&D centres as extensions of its global operations, enabling it to address multiple technology verticals from within the country. "In the near future, we'll have the number of engineers keep increasing with time because we are coming up with new innovations and the talent pool in India, the engineering strength in India is very, very good for us," he said.

India Today

2 hours ago

• India Today

Civil aviation body seeks Air India audit details since 2024 after crash: Report

Aviation safety regulator DGCA has asked flight operations inspectors to provide details of all inspections and audits conducted for Air India since 2024, sources said on details of the findings of the inspections and audits will have to be submitted by Sunday, they an e-mailed communication, which came a day after the regulator issued a show-cause notice to the airline for flight duty time limitations (FDTL) violation, and also ordered removal of the airline's three senior officials from their respective roles for certain lapses, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has sought these details for 2024 and 2025 (to date), the sources The data has been sought on planned and unplanned inspections, audit, cockpit/ en route, station facility, ramp and cabin inspection among others, as per the Tata Group airline has been facing intense scrutiny since one of its Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed shortly after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport on June 12, killing over 270 people on board and on the inspection and audit details sought by the safety regulator include findings on ramp and cabin, among Watch IN THIS STORY#Ahmedabad Plane Crash