An Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) fire warning reportedly forced a Singapore-bound Air India flight to return to Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport shortly after takeoff on Wednesday.
While the fire warning information, which PTI news agency reported citing sources, was not confirmed by Air India, its spokesperson said in a statement that a suspected technical issue necessitated the precautionary return to Delhi of flight AI 2380.
“The operating crew of flight AI 2380, operating from Delhi to Singapore on 14 January decided to carry out a precautionary return to Delhi shortly after take-off due to a suspected technical issue,” Air India spokesperson said.
“The aircraft landed safely in Delhi. Our ground teams at Delhi extended all necessary assistance to passengers and the flight departed for Singapore on an alternative aircraft. Air India regrets the inconvenience caused to passengers due to this unforeseen situation. At Air India, the safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew remain top priority,” the spokesperson added.
Sources said that there was an APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) fire warning, following which the aircraft returned to Delhi after being airborne for around an hour, PTI reported.
Information available on flight tracking website Flightradar24.com showed that the flight, operated with a Boeing 787-9 aircraft, was airborne for around an hour and landed back at about 1 am on Thursday.
In another unrelated incident, a container got sucked into an engine of the A350 Air India aircraft at the Delhi airport, damaging the engine of the jet on Thursday.
A video, seemingly captured by a passenger who was on board the aircraft, showed the aircraft stationed on the tarmac and surrounded by on ground staffers. The damaged to the engine could also be seen in the video.
An Air India statement is awaited on the incident.