Monday 16 / June / 2025
New Delhi : An Air India flight, which was supposed to land in Delhi, was diverted back to Hong Kong after the pilot suspected a technical issue mid-air, sources said on Monday.
The AI 315 flight, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, had departed from Hong Kong to Delhi. According to the flight tracking site, Flight Radar 24, the air India flight was supposed to reach Delhi by 12.20 PM.
Sources from Air India said that the passengers have been deboarded safely and the plane is undergoing a safety check.
"The pilot suspected some technical issue in the flight and, as a precautionary measure, the flight returned to its origin. Passengers have been disembarked and the flight is going through the check," the source said.
This incident comes up just days after the tragic Air India AI 171, also a Dreamliner 787-8, on June 12 in Ahmedabad, killing 241 people.
Following the crash, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has also ordered enhanced safety checks on Air India's Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 fleet. The airline has stated that inspections on nine out of its 33 Dreamliner aircraft had been completed, with the remaining 24 on track to be inspected within the timeline provided by the regulator.
The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was en route to London from Ahmedabad when it crashed shortly after takeoff. There were 242 people on board, including 230 passengers and 12 crew members.
Out of all the people, there was a lone survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national of Indian origin, who got minor sustained injuries and had been undergoing treatment.
A high-level meeting on civil aviation security, chaired by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, is set to take place on June 17 in the wake of the recent Air India plane crash.
According to sources, the meeting will bring together top officials, including the Civil Aviation Secretary, a representative from the Gujarat government, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, and other key agencies to review the incident and assess security protocols across the aviation sector.
