Saturday 28 / June / 2025
Mumbai: A Chennai-bound Air India flight returned to Mumbai, its departure location, after being alerted about a burning smell inside the cabin, the airline confirmed on Saturday.
According to Air India, the incident occurred on Friday (June 27) on flight AI639, which departed from Mumbai and was headed to Chennai.
"The crew of flight AI639 operating from Mumbai to Chennai on Friday, June 27, 2025, made a precautionary air-return to Mumbai due to a burning smell in the cabin," an Air India spokesperson said.
"The flight landed safely back in Mumbai, and an aircraft change was initiated. Our ground colleagues in Mumbai provided all necessary support to passengers to minimise the inconvenience caused by this unforeseen disruption," the spokesperson added.
In another incident, a non-specific security alert was detected on one of Air India's aircraft on Friday. The aircraft was cleared for the next flight after standard security procedures, the Air India spokesperson said.
A statement issued by the Air India spokesperson said, "A non-specific security alert was detected on one of our aircraft. Standard security procedures were duly carried out, and the aircraft has been cleared for the next flight. Air India accords top priority to the safety and security of its passengers and crew."
Earlier, Air India Express (a subsidiary of Air India) flight IX2564, operating from Delhi to Jammu, was forced to return to its point of origin after a technical issue was detected mid-flight.
The flight, operated by an Airbus A320 aircraft, had a scheduled departure time of 10:40 AM but took off at 11:04 AM. It was expected to arrive in Jammu at 12:05 PM. However, the aircraft was diverted back to Delhi, as per Flightradar24.
Confirming the development, an Air India Express spokesperson said, 'An alternative aircraft was arranged to operate our Delhi-Jammu flight after the original aircraft returned to Delhi due to a technical issue. We regret the inconvenience caused.'
These security concerns have come to light following the crash of the London-bound Air India-171 flight in Ahmedabad on June 12, killing 241 out of 242 passengers and crew members on board.
