New Delhi, March 20 (IANS) An Air India flight that took off from Delhi for Canada’s Vancouver returned to the national capital after 9 hours, as the B777 Boeing version that was deployed on the route did not have clearance from Canada’s aviation regulator to fly into the country.

Sources said Air India flight with the call sign AI185 took off from Delhi with a full load of passengers at 12.18 p.m. on Thursday for Vancouver using a Boeing 777-200LR plane, even though Air India has approval from Canadian authorities only for its Boeing 777-300ER planes on this route.

The Boeing 777-300ER has a range of about 13,650 km with a seating capacity of 350–396 passengers, while the 777-200LR version is designed for a longer range of about 15,840 km but can carry fewer passengers with a seating capacity of 301–317 passengers.

The Air India plane had entered Chinese airspace near Kunming, a good four hours after take-off, when the blunder was detected, after which the pilots turned back to head for Delhi again. The plane landed safely back in Delhi after a gruelling 9-hour journey, with the passengers back to where they had started.

An Air India spokesperson said: “Air India flight AI185, operating from Delhi to Vancouver on 19 March, returned to Delhi due to an operational issue and in line with established standard operating procedures. The aircraft landed safely, and all passengers and crew had disembarked.”

“We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to our guests by this unforeseen situation. Our ground teams in Delhi had provided all necessary assistance, including offering hotel accommodation, while every effort was made to fly the passengers to their destination at the earliest. The flight departed this morning for Vancouver with the passengers,” the spokesperson added.

Air India has earlier been in trouble with the Indian civil aviation regulator for flying an aircraft without the required permissions. Air India had operated eight commercial flights using an Airbus A320neo plane that did not have a valid Airworthiness Review Certificate (ARC) in November 2025. The DGCA had subsequently slapped a fine of Rs 1 crore on the airline for the violation.

–IANS

sps/vd