On Mar 26th 2026, an Air India Airbus A350-900, registration VT-JRF, operating flight AI-111 from Delhi to London Heathrow Airport, was forced to abandon its journey and return to its departure point after experiencing unusual inflight conditions.
The aircraft was cruising at FL360 over eastern Saudi Arabia when it encountered turbulence, followed by abnormal vibrations throughout the airframe and an unusual noise reportedly emanating from the cargo hold.
Faced with the uncertain nature of the issue, the flight crew made the decision to discontinue the long-haul flight and return to Delhi as a precaution. The aircraft climbed slightly to FL370 before beginning its return.
After approximately 6.5 hours in the air, the jet landed safely back in Delhi without further incident. No injuries were reported among passengers or crew.
India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation has initiated a review into the occurrence, as attention grows over the nature of the reported vibrations and noise.
Notably, the same aircraft had experienced a similar issue just ten days earlier during a transatlantic flight, where passengers reported unexplained noise and vibrations in the cabin. The recurrence of such symptoms is likely to be a key focus of the ongoing investigation.
The airline described the situation as a technical issue, and the aircraft has been taken out of service for detailed inspection. The incident underscores the complexity of modern widebody aircraft systems, where even subtle anomalies are treated with utmost caution to ensure flight safety.