An Air India flight, AI 388, en route from Delhi to Vietnam, was compelled to return to Delhi on Thursday, June 19, 2025, due to a technical issue encountered mid-air. The Airbus A320 aircraft, serving the Delhi to Saigon (Vietnam) route, took off at approximately 1:45 PM but had to turn back after about an hour into the flight.

While the exact nature of the technical problem remains officially unspecified, some internal reports suggest the aircraft may not have been entirely fit for flight. According to some sources, the emergency slide of the aircraft had expired, and the gas canister that makes the slide deploy had also expired.

Following the unscheduled return, the aircraft landed safely back in Delhi, where all passengers were disembarked. Air India has stated that passengers were provided with refreshments while the airline addressed the situation. The airline has also offered affected passengers options to reschedule their flights without additional charges or to receive a full refund, depending on their preference.

This incident occurs at a time when Air India is already facing increased scrutiny regarding its fleet maintenance and operational safety. The airline had recently announced a 15% reduction in its international operations using widebody aircraft, citing operational challenges stemming from the recent Ahmedabad plane crash involving flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.

Adding to the airline's woes, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the aviation safety regulator in India, has been conducting enhanced surveillance of Air India's Boeing 787 fleet following the Ahmedabad crash. Furthermore, Air India has had to cancel 66 flights that were scheduled to be operated with Boeing 787s between June 12th and June 17th. These cancellations, along with the latest incident involving the Delhi-Vietnam flight, have raised concerns about Air India's adherence to safety protocols and the maintenance of its aircraft.

Adding to the disruption, Air India had to cancel three international flights on Wednesday, June 18, due to maintenance and technical issues, and adverse weather conditions. The flights affected were Toronto to Delhi, Dubai to Delhi, and Delhi to Bali. The Bali flight also had to return mid-air.

In light of these events, the DGCA had previously advised Air India to strengthen internal coordination across its engineering, operations, and ground handling units and to ensure the availability of adequate spare parts to minimize passenger delays. However, the regulator also stated that recent surveillance on Air India's Boeing 787 fleet did not reveal any major safety concerns, and that the aircraft and associated maintenance systems were found to be in compliance with existing safety standards.