Delhi-bound Air India flight returns to Dubai after take-off due to technical issue
Dense fog in India’s capital city has disrupted operations of dozens of flights
Dubai: An Air India flight which departed from Dubai to Delhi was forced to return to Dubai International Airport (DXB) late Tuesday evening due to a ‘technical issue’.
The Boeing 787-8 aircraft landed safely at DXB for precautionary checks.
“AI930 air-returned due to a technical issue detected shortly after take-off,” an Air India spokesperson told Gulf News. “The flight landed safely back at Dubai for precautionary checks in the interest of the safety of passengers and crew,” the spokesperson added.
The spokesperson said that passengers were provided hotel accommodation, alternative flight options, or rescheduling of dates. However, the total number of passengers on board could not be immediately ascertained.
Dense Delhi fog causes delays
Moreover, the dense fog and poor visibility have caused travel chaos in India’s capital, Delhi, with dozens of flights affected.
According to the flight tracking app flightradar24, hundreds of departing flights were delayed by 25 minutes on average, and flight arrivals were delayed by eight minutes.
According to Dubai International Airport’s website data, multiple flights departing from Dubai to Delhi were delayed on Wednesday and Thursday. Air India flight AI918 from Dubai to Delhi, scheduled for departure on February 1, 1.10 pm, has been delayed by an hour and five minutes.
Spice Jet (SG006) and IndiGo (6E1908), also scheduled for departure from Dubai on Thursday, have suffered delays of over an hour.
Delhi airport authorities issued a flight advisory on Monday, asking passengers to contact their airlines to check for updated flight information.
“While landings and take-offs continue at Delhi airport, flights that are not CAT III compliant may get affected,” the advisory read. CAT III runways make it possible for planes to land during poor visibility.