An Air India flight (AI103) operating from New Delhi to Washington, DC was forced to remain in Vienna, Austria, after a scheduled refueling stop turned into an unplanned delay due to a technical snag detected during routine maintenance checks.
According to flight tracking data from Flightradar24, the aircraft departed Delhi on July 2 and landed in Vienna as scheduled. However, the onward journey to Washington was cancelled after extended maintenance procedures were flagged by the technical team.
Air India confirmed that while the Vienna stop was pre-planned, the flight’s extended stay was due to rectification work required before it could safely proceed. “Due to this, the Vienna to Washington, DC leg was cancelled, and passengers were disembarked,” said an Air India spokesperson.
In addition, the return flight (AI104) from Washington to Delhi, which was also scheduled to route via Vienna, was cancelled. Passengers booked on the route were offered either alternate flights or full ticket refunds, depending on their preferences.
In-Flight Warning on Previous Vienna Flight Raises Eyebrows
This disruption comes just weeks after another Delhi-Vienna flight (AI187) reported an in-flight safety scare. On June 14, shortly after takeoff from Delhi, the aircraft experienced a 900-foot altitude drop during its climb. This triggered a “stick shaker” warning and a Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) caution alerting “Don’t Sink.”
Though the flight continued safely to Vienna after recovery, the incident occurred just 38 hours after the AI171 Ahmedabad-London crash on June 12, which claimed over 260 lives, raising serious safety concerns around recent Air India international operations.
