Air India Cancels Zurich–Delhi Flight After Aborted Take-off, Technical Issue Cited

Air India on Monday said it had cancelled its Zurich–Delhi service of 17 August after a technical issue forced the aircraft to abort take-off at the last moment. The development comes just days after the Tata Group-owned carrier claimed it had carried out detailed inspections of its Boeing 787 fleet and found no problems.

According to PTI, a passenger on board the Zurich flight said the aircraft halted its take-off roll due to an engine-related issue. The airline later confirmed the cancellation, stating: “Flight AI152 scheduled to operate from Zurich to Delhi on 17 August has been cancelled due to a technical reason, and subsequently due to night curfew in Zurich.”

The airline said it had arranged alternative flights for passengers and was providing hotel accommodation, along with either full refunds or complimentary rescheduling.

This is not the only disruption faced by the carrier in recent days. PTI reported that on Sunday a Delhi-bound Air India flight from Kochi, carrying Lok Sabha member and Congress leader Hibi Eden among others, also aborted take-off owing to a technical issue. Earlier, the airline was forced to cancel its Milan–Delhi service after a fault was detected during pushback.

Air India operates its Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 aircraft primarily on European routes. The repeated technical disruptions have raised questions over the fleet’s reliability, despite management assurances. PTI reported that Air India Chief Executive and Managing Director Campbell Wilson had recently told customers that comprehensive checks were conducted on the 787 fleet following safety concerns, and that “no issues were found during inspection”.

The airline, which returned to private ownership in January 2022, has in recent months been cancelling and delaying flights at short notice because of technical and maintenance problems.

(With inputs from PTI)