Delhi: An Air India blunder has come to light late. A flight carrying 300 people was mistakenly sent to Canada and returned via China after a 7-hour long journey, causing huge losses for Air India.
An Air India flight number AI-185 was flying from Delhi to Vancouver, Canada. But after taking off and traveling for about 7 hours, the flight carrying 300 passengers returned to Delhi.
Boeing 777-200 LR instead of Boeing 777-300 ER to Canada Air India on Thursday mistakenly used a Boeing 777-200 LR instead of a Boeing 777-300 ER. Under aviation regulations, different countries have different aircraft models.
Canada has approved only Air India’s B777-300 ER, not the LR version, and the issue came to light only after the plane reached Kunming airspace in China after a journey of about four hours. The plane then turned around and landed in Delhi. As a result, the plane left Delhi at 11:34 am and returned at 7:19 pm. It was reported that there were more than 300 passengers on board, and the incident came to light today.
The flight consumed 9 tonnes of fuel per hour, causing a loss of about Rs 60 lakh
Describing the incident as an operational issue, Air India said that all passengers and crew were safe and that the passengers were accommodated in hotels and sent to Vancouver on the next day, March 20 morning. The mistake is being taken seriously and action is likely to be taken, sources said. The Boeing 777 aircraft consumes about 8 to 9 tonnes of fuel per hour, which has caused costly losses due to this error.
Sources said that the mistake has been taken seriously and action is likely to be taken. A Boeing 777 aircraft consumes about 8-9 tonnes of fuel per hour, making this error costly. At current fuel prices, 8 tonnes of jet fuel can cost around ₹7 to 9 lakh per hour. This means that in seven hours, the airline has spent around ₹60 lakh on fuel alone.