Air India flight declares full emergency at major airport – 'engine fire' and 171 on board

An Air India flight travelling between Bengaluru and Delhi in India was forced to declare a full emergency at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on Thursday (May 21). The flight – AI2802 – declared the emergency over a suspected engine fire and landed safely on runway 29R at Delhi airport at around 9.30pm local time, after which the runway remained out of action for around 50 minutes.

There were 171 passengers on board the Airbus A320 aircraft. In a statement, the airline said that during the aircraft’s final approach to Delhi, the cockpit crew received a fire warning from one of the engines – an alert later confirmed to be correct. “Air India is immediately initiating a full investigation into the incident’s cause, in coordination with the relevant regulatory authorities. We are committed to sharing further verified information as soon as it becomes available. The safety of our passengers and crew remains our highest priority,” it added.

Air India’s statement continued that the crew followed all standard operating procedures and safely landed the aircraft at Delhi airport. All passengers and crew members are safe and disembarked normally, according to Hindustan Times.

The incident comes just hours after another Air India flight, AI2651, carrying 181 passengers suffered a tail strike while landing at Bengaluru airport. The aircraft was later grounded for a detailed inspection. A spokesperson said the plane landed safely and all passengers and crew members disembarked normally.

Air India Group is estimated to have incurred over ₹22,000 crore (£1.7million) losses in the financial year ended March 31, 2026. As a result, Air India will scale back services to Europe, North America, Australia and Singapore in June. Air India’s outgoing CEO and managing director, Campbell Wilson, in a message to employees, said that many of the airline’s international flights have become unprofitable and continuing operations will further increase losses.

“We have reduced some flying for April and May… A massive rise in jet fuel prices, together with airspace closures and longer flying routes, has caused many of our international flights to become unprofitable to operate,” Mr Wilson told staff. Speaking earlier this month, he added that the situation remained “extremely challenging,” leaving them “no choice” but to further trim schedules for June and July.

It has been far from smooth year for Air India. On June 12, 2025, an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Flight 171, bound for Gatwick Airport, crashed 32 seconds after takeoff into the student hostels of the Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College. Of the 12 crew members and 230 passengers on board, one passenger survived. On the ground, 19 people were killed and 67 others were seriously injured.

According to a preliminary report released on July 12 by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), the devastating crash was caused by the loss of thrust in both engines after their fuel control switches were moved from RUN to CUTOFF three seconds after liftoff. The crash remains under investigation, and the final report has not yet been released.