New Delhi, March 26 (IANS) An Air India flight from Delhi to London Heathrow had to return to the national capital on Thursday afternoon after a suspected technical issue was detected mid-air.

The flight, AI111, had taken off from Delhi at around 6 am and remained in the air for nearly seven hours before returning. It safely landed back in Delhi at approximately 12:30 pm.

According to an Air India spokesperson, the aircraft made a precautionary return after a suspected technical issue was noticed during the journey. The airline said that the decision was taken keeping passenger safety as the top priority.

The spokesperson confirmed that the aircraft landed safely in line with the airline’s strict safety standards.

The plane is now undergoing detailed technical checks, which are expected to take some time before further decisions are made.

Air India also expressed regret over the inconvenience caused to passengers due to the unexpected situation.

The airline said it is making all possible efforts to ensure that affected passengers can continue their journey to London at the earliest.

Further details about the nature of the technical issue are awaited as inspections continue.

Meanwhile, last week, an Air India flight that took off from Delhi for Canada's Vancouver returned to the national capital after 9 hours, as the B777 Boeing version that was deployed on the route did not have clearance from Canada’s aviation regulator to fly into the country.

The Air India flight with the call sign AI185 took off from Delhi with a full load of passengers at 12.18 p.m. on March 20 for Vancouver using a Boeing 777-200LR plane, even though Air India has approval from Canadian authorities only for its Boeing 777-300ER planes on this route.

--IANS

pk