Airlines cancel multiple flights after safety checks, other planes return to base — all in 72 hours
Multiple airlines across the globe cancelled their flights after safety checks, while a host of others reported mid-flight scares amid adverse weather conditions and technical snags in the past 72 hours. Airlines are likely on high alert following the fatal Air India crash in Ahmedabad last week that claimed the lives of 241 passengers and crew members, besides leading to multiple casualties on the ground. In fact, Air India said it cancelled its London-Amritsar, Delhi-Dubai, Bengaluru-London and Mumbai-San Francisco flights on Tuesday. A few of the affected flights are:
📌 Indigo Goa-Lucknow: On Monday, an IndiGo flight from Goa to Lucknow experienced mid-air turbulence due to adverse weather conditions. However, the crew navigated the aircraft safely, the airline said in a statement on Tuesday.
📌 IndiGo Kochi-Delhi: Another IndiGo flight from Kochi to Delhi was forced to make an emergency landing at Nagpur on Tuesday morning after a reported bomb threat. The flight, 6E 2706, had taken off from Kochi at 9:20 am and was scheduled to arrive in Delhi by 12:35 pm.
📌 Air India San Francisco-Mumbai: The international route was also impacted as a Mumbai-bound Air India flight from San Francisco was halted in Kolkata early Tuesday after one of its engines suffered a technical snag, news agency PTI reported.
📌 Air India Ahmedabad-London: Additional precautionary checks also led to an Air India flight on the Ahmedabad-London route being cancelled due to lack of aircraft. The flight started operating with a new code after the June 12 crash of AI-171 plane but unavailability of aircraft, resulting from airspace curbs and additional precautionary checks, led to the cancellation of flights.
The Tata Group-owned airline denied claims that a technical snag led to the cancellation and maintained it has made alternative arrangements to fly affected passengers to their destination and offering full refunds on cancellations or complimentary rescheduling if opted by them, PTI reported.
📌 Air India New Delhi-Hong Kong: An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for New Delhi from Hong Kong on Monday (June 16), returned to its origin as a precautionary measure after the pilot suspected a technical issue mid-air, news agency Reuters reported, citing sources. The flight AI315 is now reportedly undergoing checks. It departed from Hong Kong at 12:16 pm and landed just over an hour later.
📌 Lufthansa Frankfurt-Hyderabad: A Lufthansa flight to Hyderabad was forced to make a U-turn and land at Frankfurt Airport due to a bomb threat. 'A bomb threat email targeting Lufthansa flight LH 752 was received at the Hyderabad airport at 18:01 hrs on 15th June 2025,' news agency PTI quoted Hyderabad airport sources as saying. Flight LH752 took off from Germany on Sunday (June 15) at around 14.14 local time and was scheduled to arrive at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in the early hours of Monday.
'Out of an abundance of caution, Lufthansa flight LH752 from Frankfurt to Hyderabad returned to its point of departure after authorities were made aware of a bomb threat posted on social media,' Lufthansa said in a statement.
📌 British Airways London-Chennai: British Airways' Boeing 787 Dreamliner was forced to return to London Heathrow Airport on Sunday over a 'technical issue'. The Chennai-bound Flight BA35 came back to its origin in just 1 hour 38 minutes. 'The aircraft returned to Heathrow as a standard precaution after reports of a technical issue,' British Airways said in a statement. 'The flight landed safely with crew and customers disembarking as they normally would, and our teams worked hard to get their journeys back on track as soon as possible,' the statement added.
📌 Saudia Jeddah-Lucknow (Hajj flight): Smoke was detected from the wheels of a Saudia Airlines plane that landed in Lucknow carrying Haj pilgrims on Sunday morning (June 15). 'Smoke was detected from the wheels of a Saudi Aircraft that was bringing back 242 Haj Yatris from Jeddah,' news agency PTI quoted sources as saying. 'The Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) team rushed to the spot. Working with the Saudia team, the smoke was contained and damage to the aircraft was averted,' they said.
(With inputs from PTI, Reuters)
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