An Air India flight from Delhi to London today returned to the bay due to a suspected technical fault. The aircraft was preparing for take-off when the crew stopped the departure and brought it for checks. In a post on X, the spokesperson of Air India said that Flight AI2017 operating from Delhi to London on 31 July returned to bay due to a suspected technical issue. The official added that the cockpit crew decided to discontinue the take-off run following standard operating procedures and brought the aircraft back for precautionary checks.
The spokesperson also said that an alternative aircraft is being deployed to fly the passengers to London at the earliest.
"Flight AI2017 operating from Delhi to London on 31 July 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 is being deployed to fly the passengers to London at the earliest. Our ground staff is extending all support and care to the guests to minimise inconvenience caused due to this unexpected delay,” Air India spokesperson said, as quoted by news agency ANI.
DGCA Audit Lists Around 100 Violations, Observations Related To Air India
Aviation safety regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation has come across around 100 violations and observations related to Tata Group-owned Air India's training, crew's rest and duty period norms, and airfield qualification, among others, sources said on Tuesday. Of these, as many as seven are Level-1 violations, which are considered critical safety risks and require immediate corrective action by the air operator, they said. Air India, in a statement, acknowledged receipt of the findings and said it will submit its response to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) within the stipulated time frame. The audit findings come at a time when the airline is under intense scrutiny by the regulator in the wake of the June 12 plane crash. All airlines undergo regular audits to test and continuously strengthen processes. Air India's annual DGCA audit took place in July, during which it was fully transparent with auditors in the spirit of such continuous improvement, Air India said in the statement.
There are a total of 100 violations and observations in the audit report related to training, crew's rest and duty period norms, training, insufficient crew complement and airfield qualification, among others, sources said. The detailed audit at Air India's main base in Gurugram was carried out from July 1 to July 4 as part of the operations, flight scheduling, rostering and various other areas, according to a source.
(With PTI inputs.)