Air India Cancels San Francisco to Mumbai Flight Due to Technical Issues

On Tuesday, Air India canceled its flight from San Francisco to Mumbai during a scheduled stop in Kolkata due to a technical malfunction in one of its engines. Officials informed a news agency about the incident. The cancellation led to a chaotic scene at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata, as 211 passengers aboard the Boeing 777-200 LR attempted to persuade authorities for a swift resolution to reach their destination. In total, 228 individuals, including the flight crew, were on board. The flight was originally scheduled to depart Kolkata for Mumbai at 2 AM on Tuesday.

The Tata Group-owned airline had not issued an official statement by the time of reporting. This incident occurred just days after a tragic event on June 12, when an Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick crashed shortly after takeoff, resulting in the deaths of over 270 people on board and on the ground. Air India is making "special arrangements" to transport stranded passengers to Mumbai. Further details remain unavailable. An airline official mentioned that all passengers were provided breakfast, and many were relocated to hotels based on their preferences, while efforts to book them on alternative flights to Mumbai were ongoing.

Later, an official from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in Kolkata stated that most passengers had been sent to a hotel near the airport, while others were accommodated in a different hotel. Typically, the airline operates direct flights from San Francisco to Mumbai; however, due to ongoing geopolitical events, including the closure of Pakistani airspace, Air India had to alter its route and make a "technical stop" in Kolkata. Flight AI180 landed in Kolkata at the scheduled time of 12:45 PM, despite departing San Francisco an hour late.