Five passengers, 2 crew members of Air India Mumbai-London flight fall sick mid-air; food poisoning suspected

Air India

Five passengers and two crew members aboard an Air India flight from Heathrow, London, to Mumbai reported experiencing dizziness and nausea, as confirmed by Air India on Monday.

According to a report by the Times of India, multiple passengers began experiencing symptoms of food poisoning, including nausea and dizziness, on board flight AI 130.

ToI reported that 11 people, including six cabin crew members, fell ill during the flight. However, ANI reported that five passengers and two crew members were affected.

The flight landed safely in Mumbai, where medical teams were on standby to assist.

An Air India spokesperson stated, "The flight landed safely in Mumbai, where our medical teams were ready to provide immediate assistance. After landing, two passengers and two cabin crew members who continued to feel unwell were taken to the medical room for further examination and were later discharged. We are investigating the incident and have duly notified the regulator."

Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the illness.

Earlier that day, an Air India Express flight operating from Delhi to Jammu was forced to return to Delhi mid-flight due to a "suspected" GPS signal interference incident. The airline confirmed that an alternative aircraft was arranged for the passengers.

The Airbus aircraft was scheduled to depart from Delhi at 10:40 AM and took off at 11:04 AM, with an expected landing in Jammu by 12:05 PM. However, during the flight, it was diverted back to the national capital and landed safely, according to Flightradar24.

In a revised statement, an Air India Express spokesperson said, "Our Delhi-Jammu flight returned to Delhi as a precautionary measure following a suspected GPS interference incident. Subsequently, an alternative flight was organized to connect guests to Jammu. We regret the inconvenience caused. Instances of GPS signal interference have been reported by operators while flying over certain sensitive regions."

A replacement aircraft was quickly arranged to operate the Delhi-Jammu flight after the original aircraft returned to Delhi.

(With Agency inputs)