Air India cancels New Delhi-Hong Kong flight due to 'suspected technical issue'

Taking off after a long delay for Hong Kong, an Air India flight carrying more than 200 passengers on Monday returned to the national capital due to a "suspected technical issue" and later, the flight was cancelled, according to officials.

Many of the passengers were accommodated on another carrier's flight, some were provided hotel accommodation in the national capital, and a full refund was also offered to people who preferred that option, an Air India spokesperson said in a statement.

An official in the know said the flight AI 314 was originally scheduled to operate to Hong Kong late on Sunday night, but due to some engineering issues in the Boeing 787 aircraft, the flight was rescheduled for Monday morning. Finally, the flight took off at around 7.40 am but returned in less than an hour to the national capital. There were more than 200 people on board, the official added.

"Flight AI 314, operating Delhi to Hong Kong on July 3 air-returned to Delhi after a suspected technical issue," the airline's spokesperson said. According to the spokesperson, after necessary checks, the flight was cancelled and many of our guests were subsequently re-accommodated on another carrier.

"We have also provided hotel accommodation in Delhi to some of the guests, apart from offering full refunds to those who preferred the option," the spokesperson added.