Air India’s Delhi-Thiruvananthapuram flight suffers bird hit; return flight cancelled after safe landing

Air India was forced to cancel its scheduled flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi on Sunday after the aircraft reportedly suffered a bird hit on its inbound journey from the national capital.

An Air India spokesperson said, “Air India regrets to inform that flight AI2455, from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi, on 22 June 2025, is cancelled due to extended engineering checks after a suspected bird hit was detected after the aircraft landed safely in Thiruvananthapuram.  The inconvenience caused to our passengers due to this unforeseen disruption is sincerely regretted, and every effort is being made to minimise it, including providing accommodation to passengers. Refunds on cancellation or complimentary rescheduling are also being offered to guests who opt for it. Alternative arrangements are being made to fly the passengers to Delhi. At Air India, the safety of our passengers and crew remains our top priority.”

Air India and Air India Express together operate more than 1,100 flights a day, flying over 150,000 passengers.

“Air India has voluntarily undertaken enhanced pre-flight safety checks and temporary reduction of services to uphold its commitment to safe operations. This will improve stability and will minimise last-minute inconvenience to passengers,” the Airline said in its statement.

“However, despite all efforts, due to extraneous factors such as air traffic congestion, inclement weather in some parts of the country and other unforeseen operational issues, certain flights get delayed or cancelled. We notify passengers ahead of time to reduce inconvenience in case of planned delays or cancellations, but sometimes, certain challenges lead to last-minute disruptions,” the statement added.

Earlier, on June 20, Air India CEO and Managing Director Campbell Wilson reassured the public and employees that the airline’s fleet—particularly its Boeing 787 aircraft remains safe to operate following comprehensive checks, and that the carrier is exercising maximum caution in the wake of the AI171 tragedy.