An Air India fight bound for Canada ended up exactly where it started, after a seven-hour “flight to nowhere.” While it’s common to see diversions for mechanical or medical reasons, what’s interesting here is that the issue seemed to be due to a technicality more than anything…
Vancouver-bound Air India flight returns to Delhi after seven hours
This incident happened on Thursday, March 19, 2026, and involves Air India flight AI185, scheduled to operate from Delhi (DEL) to Vancouver (YVR). While this flight is ordinarily operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, on this particular day the flight was swapped to a Boeing 777-200LR with the registration code VT-AEI. For what it’s worth, this 16-year-old jet is one of the former Delta 777s that Air India acquired (which is now being phased out).
While the flight was scheduled to depart at 10:55AM, it actually took off at 12:18PM, a bit behind schedule. It started its journey east, first flying across India, and then across Bangladesh and Myanmar, before entering Chinese airspace.
However, a little over three hours after takeoff, just after having passed the city of Kunming, the plane turned around. and took almost exactly the same path back to its origin. It ended up landing in Delhi at 7:18PM, seven hours after it first departed.
The airline has stopped short of sharing the reason for the return to Delhi, other than to say that it happened “due to an operational issue and in line with established standard operating procedures.” The airline ended up putting passengers in a hotel, and then operating a replacement flight the following day.
What “operational issue” caused this Air India diversion?
It’s rare to see an ultra long haul flight simply turn around hours after takeoff, especially if there’s no problem with the aircraft or anyone onboard.
What’s noteworthy here is that the flight had been swapped from a Boeing 777-300ER to a Boeing 777-200LR, so I think it’s safe to say that flying the 777-200LR on this route was the issue. The prevailing theory seems to be that Air India is only allowed to fly 777-300ERs to Canada, based on the air rights the airline has to Canada. That’s not because there’s anything wrong with the 777-200LR, but instead, it’s just a technicality.
Now, View from the Wing claims what’s being reported elsewhere isn’t accurate, and that he has sorted out what happened. He claims that this is likely about onboard oxygen supplies:
Air India flies routes over the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush. They’ll fly a route that goes near the Hindu Kush high terrain, avoiding both Afghanistan airspace and Pakistan airspace. However to do this requires additional oxygen on board. The legacy Air India planes have it, the Delta ones do not, and the Delta ones aren’t a permanent part of the fleet so haven’t received the investment.
The ex-Delta aircraft has installed passenger oxygen meant to last about 12 minutes. However, the emergency descent profile over high terrain can require more than that. Passenger oxygen requirements depend on whether an airplane can descend to a safe altitude quickly enough while maintaining terrain clearance.
That’s a nice sounding theory, but I’m not sure I can make sense of that? The same exact 777-200LR used for this flight has also regularly operated to San Francisco (SFO), and that flight takes virtually the same route out of Delhi. Also, unless I’m missing something, this flight didn’t actually operate near the Hindu Kush high terrain region, which is in the opposite direction?
So I’m inclined to believe that the initial explanation is correct, and that this is just some paperwork issue with the Canadian authorities.
Bottom line
Passengers traveling on Air India to Vancouver were in for a bit of an adventure, when the flight turned around after a few hours enroute. This was due to an “operational issue,” which is the extent of what the airline has shared.
Air India ordinarily operates this route with a Boeing 777-300ER, but on this day, a Boeing 777-200LR was swapped in. It seems likely that this was just a paperwork issue, though it’s hard to know with 100% certainty.
What do you make of this Air India diversion?
