Kolkata: An Air India flight from San Francisco to Mumbai was terminated at its scheduled stopover in Kolkata early Tuesday morning after a technical snag was detected in one of the aircraft’s engines.
The Boeing 777-200 LR, operating as Flight AI180, landed in Kolkata at 12:45 am, though it had departed an hour late from San Francisco.
The termination led to confusion and chaos at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, with 211 passengers demanding clarity and assistance to reach their final destination.
Sources said the issue was identified during routine checks after landing. Though the flight was initially scheduled to depart for Mumbai at 2:00 am, passengers were reportedly informed of a problem with the left engine only around 2:40 am.
Crew members initially assured passengers that the snag would be resolved within 25 minutes. However, as time passed with no resolution and limited communication, many passengers grew anxious, particularly those with connecting flights from Mumbai. The ongoing drizzle did little to ease the situation as engineers continued working on the aircraft.
A further update came at 4:20 am, promising another 15-20 minutes for rectification, but no resolution followed. Finally, at 5:20 am, pilots informed passengers that the issue could not be fixed and asked them to deplane.
After completing immigration, baggage collection and customs, passengers were directed to a designated waiting area. Some were rebooked on other flights to Mumbai, while others were advised to check into hotels as most Mumbai-bound flights were full. Air India arranged food and accommodation, though no official statement had been issued by the airline at the time of reporting.