Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Nov 4: Air India on Tuesday announced that it is dispatching a relief flight to bring back passengers of its San Francisco–Delhi flight (AI174), which was diverted to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, following a suspected technical issue.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, operating on November 2 via Kolkata, made a precautionary landing in Ulaanbaatar after the crew detected a possible fault mid-flight. The airline confirmed that the aircraft landed safely and all passengers were provided immediate assistance.

In a statement, Air India said, “A relief flight, AI183, will depart from Delhi this afternoon to ferry the passengers of AI174 and is scheduled to return to Delhi on Wednesday morning.”

The airline added that it has been working closely with local authorities and the Indian Embassy in Mongolia to ensure the comfort and safety of the stranded passengers and crew. “Guests have been provided hotel accommodation and are being regularly updated about onward travel arrangements. At Air India, the safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew remain our top priority,” a company spokesperson said.

The grounded aircraft continues to undergo technical inspections in Mongolia.

Separately, India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has recently granted Air India a temporary extension of flight duty limits for its two-pilot Boeing 787 Dreamliner operations on European routes.

The DGCA noted that due to the closure of Pakistani airspace, many Europe-bound flights are now operating on longer alternate routes, necessitating the revision.

Under the new limits, the Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) has been extended from 10 hours to 10 hours 30 minutes, while the Flight Duty Period (FDP) has been increased from 13 to 14 hours, applicable specifically to two-pilot Dreamliner operations.

The airline continues to maintain that passenger safety and operational integrity remain at the core of all its decisions and flight management protocols.