TUKO.co.ke journalist Harry Ivan Mboto has over three years of experience reporting on politics and current affairs in Kenya

What should have been a routine stopover turned into yet another safety scare for Air India.

Flight AI180, a Boeing 777-200LR, was operating on the San Francisco–Mumbai route with a scheduled layover in Kolkata early Tuesday, June 17.

The long-haul aircraft landed at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata at around 12:45 am and was expected to resume its journey to Mumbai at 2:00 am.

However, during the stop, airline engineers detected a technical snag in the left engine, prompting the crew to halt the flight. As a safety precaution, the captain ordered the evacuation of all passengers from the plane around 5:20 am.

Images from the scene showed the aircraft grounded on the tarmac while airline technicians conducted a close and thorough inspection of the faulty engine.

According to India Today, the captain informed passengers through an onboard announcement that they were being asked to disembark “in the interest of flight safety”.

Air India later confirmed that all passengers had been safely deplaned and that maintenance teams were actively working on the aircraft to identify and fix the issue.

The carrier also said arrangements were being made to minimise inconvenience to affected travellers.

The incident has added to the mounting pressure on the airline, which is already under scrutiny following a string of technical issues reported in recent days.

On Monday, June 16, flight AI315, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, was forced to return to Hong Kong shortly after take-off due to a suspected technical fault.

The aircraft had already experienced a departure delay of more than three hours. Fortunately, the flight landed safely, and all passengers were later rebooked on alternative flights.

"AI315 operating from Hong Kong to Delhi on June 16 returned to Hong Kong shortly after takeoff due to a technical issue. The flight landed safely at Hong Kong and is undergoing checks as a matter of abundant precaution," Air India said, as quoted by the Economic Times.

Adding to the gravity of the situation is the recent fatal crash of Air India Flight 171.

The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed into a medical college complex in Ahmedabad on June 12, less than a minute after take-off, killing more than 270 people including passengers and crew.

In response to these incidents, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) directed Air India to undertake comprehensive maintenance checks on all its Boeing aircraft.

The directive includes fuel parameter monitoring, diagnostics of critical systems, inspection of the cabin air compressor, testing of electronic engine controls, and a review of take-off thrust and aircraft performance data.

Source: TUKO.co.ke