What happened
On Tuesday, June 2, 2026, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) operated its inaugural flight SK969 from Copenhagen (CPH) to Mumbai (BOM), marking its return to India after roughly 17 years. The Airbus A330-330 departed roughly four hours late at 8:23 PM. After flying over Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, the Black Sea, Georgia, and Azerbaijan for over eight hours, the aircraft turned around and returned to Copenhagen, arriving at 4:35 AM the next day. The diversion was caused by a lack of final regulatory approval from Indian authorities. SAS had expected the approval to be finalized while the flight was en route, but it did not arrive. To avoid diverting to a third country and potentially stranding passengers, the crew returned to base. SAS subsequently canceled flights on June 4 and June 5, indicating the approval process would take several more days. The airline stated it expects to commence service within the next couple of days once formal approval is issued