Another Air India flight faces technical glitch, passengers forced to deplane in Kolkata

In yet another incident involving an Air India flight, a plane en route from San Francisco to Mumbai was forced to make an unscheduled stop in Kolkata in the early hours of Tuesday (Jun 17).

What happened?

All passengers onboard the Air India flight were deplaned after the aircraft encountered a technical snag, though the airline has yet to disclose specific details.

Flight AI180, operating on the long-haul San Francisco–Mumbai route, landed at Kolkata's Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at 12:45 am, as per schedule. However, the technical snag was reportedly in its left engine, which resulted in a delay in its takeoff.

The crew made an announcement around 5:20 am, asking everyone to disembark. The pilot informed passengers that the decision was made in the interest of flight safety, reports Mint.

There were no injuries reported, and all passengers were safely escorted off the aircraft.

Air India has not released a formal statement about the Kolkata incident at the time of publication.

Air India flight glitches in spotlight

This latest incident adds to a growing list of technical snags plaguing Air India flights in recent days. The airline has been under intense scrutiny following a tragic plane crash earlier this month that claimed the lives of 260 people, including ground casualties, when the aircraft collided with a medical college hostel.

A series of technical snags have followed since the crash. On Monday (Jun 16), Air India Flight AI315 had to return to Hong Kong shortly after takeoff due to another midair technical issue. The aircraft landed safely, and passengers were later rebooked on alternative flights to Delhi.

A day earlier, on Sunday (Jun 15), a flight from Delhi to Zurich was significantly delayed due to mandatory checks on a Boeing 787-8 aircraft, pushing its arrival close to Switzerland's night curfew window.

Separately, early on Sunday (Jun 15) morning at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow, a Saudi Airlines flight carrying more than 250 Hajj pilgrims was evacuated due to a landing gear malfunction.

After taking off late Saturday from Jeddah, flight SV 3112 touched down at around 6:30 am after smoke and sparks were seen coming from its left wheel during taxiing. The pilot, as per reports, immediately notified air traffic control and brought the aircraft to a stop. All passengers were safely evacuated after emergency personnel acted quickly.