Air India Flight Diverts to Ireland Over Technical Issue; All Safe

According to an Air India spokesperson, flight AI1102 safely landed at Shannon Airport at 4:30 am local time. All passengers and crew members onboard are reported to be safe.

"Flight AI102 operating from New York (JFK) to Delhi on 15 March made a precautionary diversion to Shannon, Ireland, following a suspected technical issue. The aircraft landed safely at Shannon Airport at 0430 hrs local time, and all passengers and crew are safe," the spokesperson said.

The airline said the aircraft is currently undergoing detailed technical inspections in line with established safety protocols.

"The aircraft is currently undergoing detailed technical inspections as per established safety protocols. While such precautionary diversions are determined by our uncompromising commitment to safety, we regret the inconvenience and disruption caused to our guests. We are working closely with Shannon Airport authorities and local agencies to provide all necessary support to our guests and crew, whose safety remains our highest priority. We will share further updates as and when available," the spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, Air India and Air India Express will together operate 48 scheduled and non-scheduled flights to and from the West Asia region on March 16, the airline said. According to a press release, the two carriers will continue their scheduled operations to Jeddah and Muscat on March 16, including a total of 10 flights between India and Jeddah.

Air India will operate one return service each from Delhi and Mumbai, while Air India Express will operate one flight each from Bengaluru, Kozhikode and Mangalore. Additionally, Air India Express will operate 12 scheduled flights to and from Muscat, with one service each from Delhi, Kannur, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram and two services from Kochi.

In addition to the scheduled services, Air India and Air India Express will also operate a total of 26 non-scheduled flights to and from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, subject to the availability of slots and other prevailing conditions at the departure stations at the time. These flights are being operated with the requisite permissions from the relevant Indian and local regulatory authorities.

All Air India flights to and from North America, Europe, Australia and other regions continue to operate per schedule. "Guests booked to travel on any of the routes where Air India group's scheduled services remain temporarily suspended may conveniently rebook to a future date at no additional charge or opt for a full refund," the release said.

Air India guests are advised to raise their rebooking or cancellation requests on the airline's website. Air India Express guests booked to travel from any station in the UAE can conveniently rebook their flights without additional charges on Air India Express' additional commercial flights operating from any UAE station to any destination in India.

"Air India and Air India Express are proactively reaching out to impacted guests using the mobile numbers registered with the airline to provide rebooking options. Guests are requested to ensure their current and active mobile numbers are updated with the airline to receive these important notifications," the release stated. Air India group is exploring every opportunity to operate additional ad-hoc flights to and from destinations in West Asia.

- ANI