Mumbai: Air India on Monday confirmed the cancellation of its Zurich–Delhi flight on August 17 citing a technical issue, just days after the Tata Group-owned carrier said inspections of its Boeing 787 fleet had revealed “no issues.”
A passenger on board, however, claimed the take-off was aborted at the last moment due to an engine problem.
In the past two days, the airline has cancelled at least two flights, including one international, at short notice over technical reasons. Air India operates its Boeing 787-8/9 fleet primarily on European routes.
“Flight AI152 scheduled from Zurich to Delhi on August 17 was cancelled due to a technical reason and subsequently because of Zurich’s night curfew,” the airline said in a statement. It added that affected passengers were being provided hotel accommodation, refunds, or complimentary rescheduling options.
Separately, an Air India plane bound for Delhi aborted take-off at Kochi airport on Sunday due to a technical snag, with Congress MP Hibi Eden among those on board. Earlier, a Milan–Delhi service was also cancelled after an issue was detected during pushback.
The airline, privatized in January 2022, has lately faced criticism over last-minute delays and cancellations triggered by maintenance issues. This comes despite repeated assurances from CEO Campbell Wilson that detailed checks of its Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 aircraft found no faults.
