Air India sends wrong flight; returns after 9 hours via China

An Air India flight bound for Vancouver from Delhi had to return mid-air after the airline mistakenly deployed an aircraft that was not authorised to operate on the Canada route. The incident occurred on March 19 when the flight, carrying a full load of passengers, had already spent several hours in the air before the error was discovered. 

According to reports, the airline sent a Boeing 777-200LR aircraft instead of the Boeing 777-300ER model that has regulatory approval for operations into Canada. The oversight meant the aircraft did not have the necessary clearance to enter Canadian airspace, forcing the airline to recall the flight.

The aircraft had already flown for several hours and reached Chinese airspace near Kunming before the problem was detected. Pilots were then instructed to turn the plane back toward Delhi, and the flight eventually landed after nearly nine hours in the air without reaching its destination. 

Air India clarified that the return was not due to any technical fault but because of a regulatory oversight involving the aircraft type used for the route. The incident has raised questions about operational checks and coordination within the airline’s flight planning process.