An Air India flight bound for London returned to Delhi on Thursday after remaining airborne for nearly seven hours due to a suspected technical issue. Flight AI 111, operated by an Airbus A350, had departed from Delhi for Heathrow Airport and was flying over Saudi Arabian airspace when it turned back. Flight tracking data showed that the aircraft had already travelled around 3,300 kilometres before reversing course. The incident marked the second time within a week that an Air India flight made a mid-air return because of technical concerns.
The flight took off from Delhi at 6.13 am and landed back in the capital at around 1.20 pm. Sources indicated that unusual noises were heard onboard, prompting concern. The aircraft involved, registered as VT-JRF, had previously been diverted to Shannon, Ireland, while operating a New Delhi–New York service in March due to a technical issue. Since then, the aircraft had reportedly completed ten flight sectors without any abnormalities.
Air India later clarified that the flight returned as a precaution after a suspected technical problem was detected. The airline said a non-specific vibration was felt inside the cabin, although all cockpit instruments continued to show normal readings. As a safety measure, the flight crew decided to return to Delhi, where the aircraft landed safely. The airline added that the aircraft is undergoing detailed technical inspections in accordance with standard safety procedures.
According to Air India, the aircraft had previously undergone comprehensive checks by its engineering team and had also been cleared for service by Airbus technical experts. The airline stressed that the aircraft had been operating normally before the incident. The plane had been in the air for approximately four hours before the decision was made to turn back, resulting in a total airborne time of nearly seven hours.
One passenger said the process after landing could have been handled more efficiently, particularly for elderly travellers and families with young children. He noted that all passengers had already cleared immigration before departure and felt that the time spent repeating formalities could have been used to better assist travellers. However, he acknowledged that Air India made efforts to accommodate passengers after the return.
The incident follows a similar occurrence nearly a week earlier, when an Air India flight headed to Vancouver returned to Delhi after more than seven hours in the air due to what the airline described as an operational issue. That aircraft turned around while flying over Chinese airspace. Earlier in the month, an IndiGo flight from Delhi to Manchester was also forced to return after flying for several hours because of sudden airspace restrictions linked to the Iran conflict, which has disrupted aviation operations across parts of the Middle East.
