Technical snags and a bomb threat resulted in three India-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft returning to origin after takeoff in the last 36 hours. The planes were bound for Chennai, Hyderabad and Delhi from other countries.
This comes days after an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft bound for London crashed in Ahmedabad, shortly after takeoff, killing 241 of the 242 passengers on board.
Hongkong-Delhi Air India flight
In the most recent case, a Delhi-bound Air India AI-315 Boeing 787 Dreamliner from Hong Kong returned to its origin airport within an hour of takeoff after the pilot suspected a technical snag.
The airline said in a statement that the flight landed safely in Hong Kong and all passengers disembarked from the plane. An inspection of the aircraft is underway, it added.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner left from Hong Kong at 12:16 pm (local time) (around 9:45 am IST) and was scheduled to land in Delhi at 12:20 pm IST.
However, according to Flightradar24, the flight took off from Hong Kong after a delay of around 3.5 hours.
“AI315 operating from Hong Kong to Delhi on 16 June 2025 returned to Hong Kong shortly after takeoff due to a technical issue. The flight landed safely at Hong Kong and is undergoing checks as a matter of abundant precaution. Alternative arrangements have been planned to fly the passengers to their destination Delhi at the earliest,” Air India said.
The airline said that it was providing all necessary on-ground assistance to the passengers to minimize the inconvenience caused by this unforeseen disruption.
London-Chennai British Airways flight
On Sunday, a Chennai-bound flight of British Airways returned to London’s Heathrow Airport after a technical issue. The airline issued a statement on the same. It said, “The flight landed safely with crew and customers disembarking as they normally would, and our teams are working hard to get their journeys back on track as soon as possible.”
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner took off from London after a 36-minute delay. As per Flightradar24, the aircraft circled over the Strait of Dover several times before returning to Heathrow Airport.
Lufthansa flight returns due to ‘bomb threat’
In another case, a Hyderabad-bound Lufthansa flight from Germany’s Frankfurt airport was forced to return after it failed to get clearance for landing, following a bomb threat.
The flight LH752, also a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, took off from Germany around 14:14 pm (local time) on Sunday and was scheduled to land at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in the early hours of Monday.
Lufthansa issued a statement, saying, “Out of an abundance of caution, Lufthansa flight LH752 from Frankfurt to Hyderabad returned to its point of departure after authorities were made aware of a bomb threat posted on social media.”
“The safety of our passengers and crew is Lufthansa’s highest priority. Affected passengers were provided with accommodation in Frankfurt and will be continuing their journey to Hyderabad today,” it added.
News agency PTI reported, citing airport sources in Hyderabad, and said, “A bomb threat email targeting Lufthansa flight LH 752 was received at the Hyderabad airport at 18:01 hrs on 15th June 2025.”
A committee for assessing the bomb threat was formed, and all due procedures were followed according to the standard operating procedure, they added.
Meanwhile, a passenger aboard the Hyderabad-bound flight told PTI they were told that “Hyderabad hasn’t given permission to land the flight there”.
“It was a smooth flight and after about two hours in the air, we were told that we would be returning to Frankfurt,” the passenger said.
Ahmedabad plane crash
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft has been in the limelight in the past few days following the plane crash of Gatwick-bound Air India AI171 on Thursday, June 12.
The aircraft, carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members, crashed into the hostel complex of BJ medical college within minutes of takeoff from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.
The tragedy claimed the lives of over 270 people, of whom 241 were aboard the Air India aircraft, and more than 20 others were those present on the ground.
Only one passenger of the Boeing Dreamliner survived the plane crash.
