Hyderabad: An Air India Express flight heading to Phuket, Thailand, made an emergency return to Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport just 16 minutes into the flight from takeoff on Saturday morning, July 19, owing to a reported technical malfunction.
Flight IX110, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 (VT-BWA), departed at about 6:41 a.m. and arrived back at 6:57 a.m., after flying into airspace above Andhra Pradesh. The flight, which was initially due to depart at 6:20 a.m., was already delayed by about 20 minutes.
Though all the passengers and crew members were reported safe, the airline did not reveal the extent of the technical malfunction. Passengers sat on board for a while after arrival, waiting for further directives.
Passengers waiting at Hyderabad airport take to X
Angry travellers took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their frustrations regarding the communication gap and flight delays.
One passenger waiting at the airport complained, “@DGCAIndia @AirIndiaX flight IX110 returning after takeoff from Hyderabad to Phuket. No update yet — waiting here inside the flight. Frustrating.”
The same passenger followed up with another post, “Thanks @AirIndiaX for making me aware to never ever fly with you once again… after being diverted and forced through an unorganised re-security screening.”
Another user wrote, “Just got an update from @AirIndiaX stating that they are re-routing us on another aircraft because of the technical malfunction… @DGCAIndia can we make a prior homework done??”
XI’s response
Air India Express posted in response to the criticism, “We apologise for the inconvenience incurred because your flight has been disrupted. Note that the delay was caused by technical issues, as the safety of our guests is our main priority. We are attending to the issue and are currently waiting for the revised ETD.
Until Saturday afternoon, passengers waiting at the Hyderabad airport were being accommodated on a spare aircraft. Technical teams were checking the grounded aircraft, and a detailed inspection report is pending.
Such incidents raise questions about maintenance standards. Aviation authorities are likely to follow up with additional investigation if needed.
