Delhi Airport Incident: An Air India Airbus A350 wide-body aircraft suffered damage to its right engine at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Thursday morning after ingesting a cargo container during taxiing amid dense fog, according to a source familiar with the incident.
The aircraft, operating Flight AI101 from Delhi to New York (JFK), has been grounded for detailed inspections, and the airline has warned of possible disruptions on select long-haul routes operated by its A350 fleet.
Sequence of Events
Air India said the flight was forced to return to Delhi shortly after takeoff due to the unexpected closure of Iranian airspace, which affected its planned flight path to the United States.
“Upon landing in Delhi, the aircraft encountered a foreign object while taxiing in dense fog, resulting in damage to the right engine,” the airline said in a statement.
There were no reports of injuries to passengers or crew, and all standard safety protocols were followed, the airline added.
Aircraft Grounded, Probe Underway
The A350 aircraft has been taken out of service and will undergo a thorough technical investigation, including inspections by engineering teams and aviation safety officials to determine how the cargo container came into the aircraft’s path.
Foreign Object Damage (FOD) incidents are taken seriously in aviation as they can affect engine integrity and overall operational safety.
Impact on Operations
Air India cautioned that the grounding of the aircraft may lead to delays or cancellations on some international routes, particularly those served by its limited A350 fleet, which is primarily deployed on ultra-long-haul destinations such as the US and Europe.
The airline said it is working to minimise passenger inconvenience by making alternative arrangements where required.
Background
The Airbus A350 is among Air India’s newest aircraft types and forms a key part of the Tata Group-owned carrier’s fleet modernisation and international expansion strategy. The incident comes at a time when global aviation operations are facing added complexity due to airspace restrictions in parts of West Asia and winter weather disruptions at major hubs.
Further details are awaited as the investigation progresses.