Air India plane bound for Bengaluru returns to New Delhi after suspected fire in air conditioning unit

An Air India flight bound for Bengaluru on Friday (May 17) evening returned to the New Delhi airport due to a suspected fire in the aircraft's air conditioning unit, news agency PTI reported citing sources.

The AI 807 aircraft with 175 passengers on board made a safe landing at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in India's capital.

As per the reports, the flight was forced to land because of a suspected fire in the air conditioning unit.

After an emergency was declared, the flight made a safe precautionary landing at around 6.40 pm IST on Friday.

The airline is at present making alternative arrangements for the passengers to fly to the southern city of Bengaluru, said an official.

According to the flight tracking website flightradar24, the flight was operated with an A321 aircraft.

The incident took place just hours after a Delhi-bound Air India flight experienced a collision with a tug tractor while taxiing towards the runway at Pune Airport on Thursday (May 16).

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Over 180 passengers were on board that flight.

"The aircraft, carrying around 180 passengers, suffered damage to its nose and a tyre near the landing gear. Despite the collision, all passengers and crew on board are reported to be safe," news agency ANI quoted an airport official as saying.

Airport officials stated that "the passengers were immediately deplaned and arrangements were made for an alternative flight to Delhi."

Following this, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also ordered a probe into the incident so as to determine the cause of the collision.

As per the preliminary reports, the tug truck which is used to manoeuvre the plane on the ground, hit the aircraft at the time of the taxiing process.

(With inputs from agencies)