A London-bound Air India flight (AIC129) was forced to return to Mumbai after remaining in the air for nearly three hours on Friday morning, June 13, amid heightened global aviation alerts following Israeli airstrikes on Iran.
According to flight tracking platform FlightRadar24, the Boeing aircraft took off from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai at 5:39 AM, and was last reported flying near Alibaug, about 100 km from Mumbai, before returning safely to base.
No official reason has yet been provided, but reports suggest that airspace concerns and security risks due to Middle East tensions may have contributed to the precautionary measure.
Ahmedabad Plane Crash Update
This development comes just a day after the catastrophic crash of another London-bound Air India flight (Flight AIC171) that departed from Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, en route to London’s Gatwick Airport, crashed into a medical college hostel just minutes after takeoff—at around 1:40 PM IST—killing 241 of the 242 people on board. Only one passenger, a British national of Indian origin, survived.
The ill-fated flight was carrying:
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169 Indian nationals
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53 British nationals
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7 Portuguese nationals
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1 Canadian national
The aircraft was commanded by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a Line Training Captain with over 8,200 flying hours, and First Officer Clive Kundar, who had logged 1,100 hours.
Air India and aviation authorities have begun investigations, while global aviation regulators have placed Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner program under renewed scrutiny, especially after a series of safety incidents involving various Boeing models.
