An Air India flight travelling from Delhi to Mumbai was forced to turn back shortly after take-off on Monday after the crew detected a technical issue in one of the aircraft’s engines. The flight safely returned to Indira Gandhi International Airport, and all passengers and crew members were evacuated without any injuries.

According to airline officials, the pilots followed standard safety procedures after noticing an issue with the aircraft’s right engine soon after departure. As a precaution, the decision was taken to return to Delhi rather than continue the journey. The aircraft landed normally, and passengers were guided off the plane in a calm and orderly manner.

Air India later issued an apology to passengers for the inconvenience caused and assured them that alternative travel arrangements were being made to help them reach Mumbai at the earliest. The Tata Group-owned airline reiterated that passenger safety remains its highest priority and said the aircraft has been taken out of service for detailed technical checks.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Civil Aviation acknowledged the incident and said it has asked Air India and the aviation regulator DGCA to submit a detailed report. Officials said the matter will be reviewed thoroughly to ensure all safety protocols were followed and to understand the cause of the technical issue.

This incident comes close on the heels of another Air India Express disruption last week, where a flight scheduled to operate between Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam was cancelled before take-off due to an engine-related concern detected during taxiing. Several senior political leaders were among the passengers on that flight. The airline had then stated that the flight was grounded purely as a safety measure.