NEW DELHI: Air India Express flight IX 1113 from Delhi to Ranchi, with over 150 flyers onboard, developed a technical issue midair on Monday evening and had to return to the Indira Gandhi International Airport. This is the third Indian flight from or to Delhi to develop technical issues midair in the past 24 hours.
The flight is a Boeing 737-738 model and a slightly different make from the Boeing 787 Dreamliner which was involved in one of the most tragic aviation accidents in India on June 12.
Air India Express is a subsidiary of the Tata-owned Air India group.
IX 1113 took off on Monday at 4.40 pm from Terminal 3 of the Delhi airport and was supposed to reach Birsa Munda airport in Ranchi at 6.20 pm. However, it returned to Delhi after being airborne for some time.
An Air India Express spokesperson said, "One of our flights returned to Delhi after take off due to a suspected technical issue. Post inspections and clearance, the aircraft continued its scheduled operations. We regret the inconvenience."
Ground checks were done immediately and the flight took off at 7.30 pm, a source said.
This is the third flight from or to Delhi to have developed technical issues midair. On Sunday night, an Air India flight AI 819 from Delhi to Vadodara returned to Delhi after technical issues immediately after take-off, while AI 315, a Boeing Dreamliner flight (Boeing 788) from Hong Kong to Delhi was flown back to Hong Kong on Monday morning due to a technical glitch.
Across the country, this marks the fifth such flight returning to its originating point due to various issues in the aftermath of the June 12 mishap in Ahmedabad. Other incidents involved a Lufthansa flight LH 752 from Frankfurt to Hyderabad diverted back to Frankfurt on Sunday due to a bomb threat onboard, and a British fighter jet F-35 landing in Kerala due to low fuel.
