An Air India flight travelling from San Francisco to Mumbai experienced a major delay early Tuesday when a technical issue was identified during a planned stop in Kolkata, resulting in the precautionary disembarkation of all passengers.
Flight AI180, flown by a Boeing 777-200LR, arrived at Kolkata’s Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport at 12:45 a.m. on June 17 for a scheduled layover. The plane was in a standard check when technicians found a defect in the left engine, halting its planned departure at 2 a.m.
After identifying the problem, the flight crew and ground personnel retained passengers on the aircraft as additional inspections were conducted. Around 5:20 a.m., the captain declared that all passengers would be removed from the aircraft for safety reasons. Airport video captured passengers peacefully disembarking the plane as technicians carried on with their examination. Air India verified that all travellers were unharmed and receiving support, which included rebooking onto different flights to Mumbai.
The airline stated that its engineering teams were investigating the cause of the failure and working to restore the aircraft to a working state. This event occurs in the context of several recent technical and safety concerns affecting Air India’s fleet.
Only a day before, an Air India flight travelling from Hong Kong to New Delhi turned back mid-flight because of another technical issue. The airline faces increased scrutiny after a deadly crash of a Dreamliner in Ahmedabad, which resulted in more than 270 fatalities and led to regulatory orders for comprehensive safety inspections across its fleet. Although faced with challenges, Air India reaffirmed its dedication to safety and operational clarity, emphasising that the well-being of passengers is its primary focus.
