Kolkata: An Air India flight from San Fransisco that made a routine landing at the Kolkata airport in the wee hours of Tuesday, was unable to continue with the journey to Mumbai due to a problem with one of its engines.
The passengers waited in the aircraft for nearly five hours, before being deboarded and put up in hotels.
According to officials, flight AI180 landed on time at 12.45 am, but could not take off due to a snag in the left engine. Around 5.20 am, an onboard announcement directed all passengers to disembark.
“The aircraft’s captain informed passengers that the decision was made in the interest of flight safety,” an official said.
On Monday, Air India’s flight AI2493 from Mumbai to Ahmedabad was cancelled after facing delays due to operational issues. The Airbus A321-211 (VT-PPL), assigned to operate the flight, was initially delayed for unspecified reasons.
During this time, the assigned crew exceeded their Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL), the maximum hours crew members are allowed to work to ensure safety, leading to the flight’s cancellation.
On Monday evening, an Air India Express flight from Delhi to Ranchi was also forced to return to the capital shortly after take-off due to a suspected technical problem.
The Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft was originally scheduled to land at Ranchi’s Birsa Munda Airport at 6.20 pm.
After inspection and clearance, the aircraft resumed normal operations, an airline spokesperson said.
Such incidents have gained importance after Thursday’s horrific air crash in Ahmedabad that left at least 275 people dead. A London-bound Air India Boeing 797-8 Dreamliner was involved in that crash that occurred seconds after aircraft took off from Ahmedabad.
