What happened
Air India flight AI185, scheduled from Delhi (DEL) to Vancouver (YVR), diverted back to Delhi after approximately three hours in the air, resulting in a 7-hour 'flight to nowhere.' The flight, originally scheduled for a Boeing 777-300ER, was swapped to a Boeing 777-200LR (VT-AEI), an ex-Delta aircraft being phased out. After taking off late at 12:18 PM, the plane flew east across India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, entering Chinese airspace near Kunming before turning around. Air India cited an 'operational issue' and standard operating procedures. The prevailing theory is a technicality regarding air rights or aircraft certification for Canada, though another theory suggests insufficient passenger oxygen supplies for high-terrain routes on the ex-Delta jets. Passengers were put in a hotel and re-flown the following day