Air India has scheduled an additional flight from Milan to Delhi today to bring back home 256 passengers who have been stranded in Milan since last Friday, October 17.
The passengers’ trip was delayed after their original flight, AI138, was cancelled on Friday due to a technical issue. The airline’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner (VT-ANN) had encountered the technical issue upon landing in Milan, preventing the aircraft from operating the return journey to Delhi.
This disruption left passengers stuck in Milan while they were returning home for Diwali.
Assistance and compensation provided
Air India said in a X (formerly Twitter) post that the “Flight AI138D will depart from Milan at 1900 hrs (local time) and arrive in Delhi on the morning of 20 October.”
The airline also noted that it has extended all immediate assistance to the affected passengers, including providing hotel accommodation and meals. “Full refunds or complimentary rescheduling were also offered as per passenger preference,” the post said.
The airline reaffirmed its commitment to supporting its passengers throughout the disruption, stating, “We remain committed to extending support and assistance to our passengers at every step.”
Recurring technical issues for Air India Milan-Delhi route
This cancellation of flight AI138 on 17 October is the latest in a series of technical disruptions on the Air India Milan-Delhi route. A similar incident occurred on August 16 this year, when an Air India on the same route was cancelled due to a technical issue, identified during pushback.
According to Air India, a maintenance task was identified just as the aircraft was preparing for departure. The subsequent delay caused the operating crew to exceed mandatory flight duty time limitation norms, making it unsafe and impermissible for them to continue.
“Flight AI138 operating from Milan to Delhi on 16 August was cancelled due to a maintenance task identified during pushback, and subsequently due to the crew coming under the mandatory flight duty time limitation norms,” a spokesperson with Air India said.
Air India offered similar assistance in August as well, providing hotel accommodation, full refunds on cancellation or complimentary rescheduling as opted by the passengers. It also promised alternative arrangements to fly passengers to Delhi as soon as possible.
Other cases of Air India cancellations
Earlier on August 3, two Air India flights were also cancelled due to technical issues. Flight AI349, which was scheduled to fly from Singapore to Chennai on Sunday, August 3, was cancelled because of a maintenance task identified before departure, requiring extra time for rectification.
Another flight, AI500, scheduled to operate from Bhubaneswar to Delhi on August 3, was also cancelled due to a technical issue that caused a high cabin temperature on the ground before departure, ANI reported.
