Air India Arranges Special Flight to Rescue Passengers Stranded in Milan Before Diwali Festival

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft was originally scheduled to operate flight AI138 on Friday from Milan to Delhi.

New Delhi:

Air India has arranged a special flight from Milan to Delhi on Sunday to repatriate passengers who were stranded after their Friday flight was cancelled due to technical issues with the Dreamliner aircraft.

Over 250 travelers found themselves stranded in Milan following the flight cancellation on Friday, with many taking to social media to voice their complaints about insufficient support and facilities provided to affected passengers.

On Sunday, the airline announced its plan to operate a recovery flight from Milan to Delhi to accommodate the passengers of flight AI138, which could not depart as scheduled on October 17 due to technical complications.

"To ensure that the affected passengers can return home to India in time for the festive occasion, our teams expedited the rectification process on the aircraft at Milan and secured the necessary approvals to operate an additional commercial flight, AI138D, departing Milan at 1900 hours local time and arriving in Delhi on the morning of 20 October," Air India explained in an official statement.

The carrier further mentioned that its representatives are actively contacting the affected travelers who had been previously rebooked on alternative airlines with post-Diwali arrival dates, offering them the choice to either maintain their existing reservations or transfer to the special flight departing today.

Numerous complaints highlighted concerns that the stranded passengers would miss Diwali celebrations in India due to the unexpected flight cancellation on Friday.

The original flight AI138 on Friday was scheduled to be operated using a Boeing 787-8 aircraft, commonly referred to as the Dreamliner.

In a statement released Saturday regarding the Milan flight cancellation, Air India confirmed that passengers had been rebooked on alternative flights departing on or after October 20, based on seat availability with both Air India and partner airlines.

"Specifically, one of the passengers, whose Schengen visa expires on 20 October, has been rebooked on another airline's flight departing Milan on 19 October to ensure compliance with her visa validity," Air India had stated.