An Air India flight bound for Vancouver, Canada, was forced to return to Delhi after nearly eight hours in the air when it was discovered that the aircraft lacked the necessary authorization to operate in Canadian airspace. The AI-185 flight departed Delhi at 11:34 a.m. local time on Friday and turned back near Kunming, China, after realizing the issue. The Boeing 777-200LR aircraft landed safely in Delhi after a total flight time of seven hours and fifty-four minutes.

According to the airline, the incident occurred because only its Boeing 777-300ER fleet currently holds permission to operate on the Canada route. Air India described the return as a “standard operating procedure” decision taken for operational reasons. All passengers and crew disembarked safely, and the airline apologized for the inconvenience.

The airline’s ground team in Delhi arranged hotel accommodations and assistance for passengers before re-departing the same flight the following morning. The incident is expected to have significant financial implications due to high fuel consumption during the nearly nine-hour flight.