On Jan 30th, 2026, a Saudi Arabian Airlines Airbus A330-300 was forced to return to its departure airport after the flight crew detected a problem with the aircraft’s cabin pressurization system during the climb.
The aircraft, registered HZ-AQD, was operating flight SV-981 from Lucknow (India) to Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) with 275 passengers and 12 crew on board. Shortly after takeoff from Lucknow, while climbing to cruise altitude, the crew identified an abnormal cabin pressure condition and elected to discontinue the flight as a precaution.
The crew returned the aircraft to Lucknow, where it landed safely approximately 80 minutes after departure. No injuries were reported, and the precautionary return allowed ground crews to inspect the aircraft and address the issue.
Following the checks, the Airbus A330 was cleared to depart again after a delay of about 4 hours and 20 minutes. The flight subsequently continued to Jeddah, arriving with a delay of roughly 3 hours and 50 minutes compared to the original schedule.
