Air India Amsterdam-Bound Flight Returns To Delhi Hours After Takeoff; 'Technical Snag' Suspected

New Delhi: An Amsterdam-bound Air India Flight returned back to New Delhi on Tuesday hours after takeoff, as per flight tracking platforms. 

The flight, AI 155, was initially scheduled to depart at 1:15 p.m. IST from Delhi and land at 6:35 p.m. CET (Central European Time) or 11:05 p.m. IST in Amsterdam. However, Boeing 787-8 plane took off from the national capital's Indira Gandhi International Airport at 1:17 pm reportedly and instead of landing at the destination, it returned to the source airport after 5 hours and 34 minutes. 

Meanwhile, a technical snag is suspected to be the reason behind flight's diversion back to the Delhi airport and official confirmation behind the diversion is awaited. 

The news comes in when airports in the past few weeks across the world saw massive delays and cancellations following the IndiGo crisis. Several flight cancellations have also hit headlines owing to poor air quality in the national capital as Delhi has reported an Air Quality Index of 401 on Tuesday (December 16, 2025), categorised as ‘severe’. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has invoked all actions under GRAP Stage-IV in the Delhi-NCR area.

Delhi airport today saw 126 flights cancellations due to dense fog causing low visibility conditions. These included 49 departures and 77 arrivals. Air India announced that it had cancelled 40 flights via an 'X' post in the morning hours.

Owing to low visibility in dense fog, thirteen individuals were charred to death as several vehicles collided against one other on the Delhi-Agra Expressway which resulted in a massive fire in the early hours of Monday, reports indicated. According to the police, 25 people were injured in the incident.

Also Read: 'Can't Bring Down AQI Within 8-9 Months': Delhi Environment Minister Apologises As National Capital Grapples With Hazardous Air Quality