London-bound AI flight returns to IGIA terminal after snag

NEW DELHI: Air India’s Delhi-London flight AI 2017 Thursday had to return to the terminal after taxiing out as the pilots suspected a snag in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner (VT-TSN). The airline then arranged another Dreamliner (VT-TSP) which took off around 6pm. Both these B787s are ex-Vistara. In the past few days, the relatively new aircraft of erstwhile Vistara (it was merged into AI last Nov) have seen some snags.

An AI spokesperson said: “Flight AI2017 operating from Delhi to London on July 31 returned to bay due to a suspected technical issue. The cockpit crew decided to discontinue the take-off run following standard operating procedures and brought the aircraft back for precautionary checks.”

“An alternative aircraft (was) deployed to fly passengers to London at the earliest. Our ground staff is extending all support and care to the guests to minimise the inconvenience caused due to this unexpected delay. At Air India, the safety and wellbeing of our passengers remain the top priority," the spokesperson added.