Air India cancels Milan-Delhi flight due to technical snag

NEW DELHI: An Air India Milan-Delhi flight was cancelled on Saturday following a technical issue detected during pushback, the airline said.

According to the carrier, a maintenance task was identified just as the aircraft was preparing for departure. The situation was further complicated as the operating crew subsequently came under mandatory flight duty time limitation norms, making it unsafe and impermissible for them to continue.

“Flight AI138 operating from Milan to Delhi on 16 August was cancelled due to a maintenance task identified during pushback, and subsequently due to the crew coming under the mandatory flight duty time limitation norms”, a spokesperson with Air India said in a statement.

“Air India sincerely regrets the inconvenience caused to passengers due to this unforeseen cancellation. Our ground team in Milan extended immediate assistance to all affected passengers, providing hotel accommodation and offering full refunds on cancellation or complimentary rescheduling as opted by the passengers,” the spokesperson added.

The airline said that alternative arrangements are being made to fly the passengers to Delhi at the earliest opportunity. “Alternative arrangements are being made to fly the passengers to their destination at the earliest. At Air India, the safety and well-being of our passengers and crew remain top priority,” the spokesperson said.

Earlier on August 3, two Air India flights were cancelled due to similar reasons. Air India’s flight AI349, which was scheduled to operate from Singapore to Chennai on Sunday (August 3), was cancelled due to a “maintenance task identified prior to departure, which required additional time for rectification”, the airline said in a statement.

Another Air India flight, AI500, scheduled to operate from Bhubaneswar to Delhi on August 3, was cancelled due to a technical issue causing high cabin temperature on the ground prior to departure. (ANI)