Air India's San Francisco-Mumbai direct flight cancelled due to technical snag

Air India has offered the stranded passengers alternative flights or full refund

A non-stop Air India flight from San Francisco, United States, to Mumbai was cancelled on June 9, shortly before its scheduled departure, due to a technical snag.

The airline said the passengers have been allowed to travel on alternative flights or claim full refund of their ticket fare.

"Air India flight AI180, scheduled to operate from San Francisco to Mumbai today, was cancelled due to an unforeseen technical issue. Affected guests have been offered the option of alternative flights or a full refund for the cancelled flight," an Air India spokesperson said.

"We will also reimburse all expenses that our guests may incur towards hotel accommodation and transportation until they take flight," the spokesperson added.

The incident comes three days after a San Francisco-bound flight of the airline, which had taken off from New Delhi, was diverted to Magadan port city in far east Russia due to a mid-air glitch. The flight, AI 173, had encountered a technical issue, "whereby the pilots received an indication of low oil pressure in one engine", the airline had said.

A day later, on June 7, the carrier dispatched a ferry flight from Mumbai to Magadan to fly the stranded passengers and crew members to San Francisco. Apart from apologising to the passengers for the disruption, Air India promised them a "full refund" along with a "voucher for future travel" through the airline.