Air India blunder: 'Wrong' plane, 7-hour in air and U-turn

An Air India flight to Vancouver was forced to return to Delhi after seven hours in the air due to an operational issue involving incorrect aircraft approval, highlighting the complexities of international flight regulations.

IMAGE: An apparent lapse in updating flight operation requirements led to the deployment of the wrong aircraft. Photograph: Kind courtesy Air India on Facebook

Key Points

Air India flight AI185 to Vancouver returned to Delhi after seven hours due to an aircraft approval issue.
The Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft used for the flight was not approved for operations to Canada.
All passengers and crew disembarked safely after the aircraft landed back in Delhi.
The flight was later rescheduled and departed for Vancouver with passengers on Friday morning.

A Vancouver-bound Air India Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft, after being airborne for over seven hours, returned to the national capital on Thursday evening after it was found that the plane was not approved for operating the flight, according to sources.

An apparent lapse in updating the list of requirements for the operation of flights to Canada resulted in the situation, where a wrong aircraft was deployed for the particular service, sources said.

Air India Responds

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

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.

The sources said the flight should have been operated only with a Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft, and there was no approval for flying the Boeing 777-200 LR plane.

There are various approvals required for operating flights to foreign destinations, and those depend on each country.