Varanasi,

18 June (HS): An Air India aircraft from Bali to Delhi was diverted to

Varanasi's Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport owing to inclement weather

in the national capital, according to an official on Wednesday. Following a

layover in Varanasi on Tuesday, the airplane proceeded for Delhi the same

night.

According

to Puneet Gupta, Director of Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in

Varanasi, Air India flight AI 2146 was diverted due to adverse weather

conditions above Delhi, which restricted visibility and made landing risky. The

flight, which had 187 people, successfully arrived at Varanasi airport, Gupta

said, adding that all required passenger facilities were provided during the

delay. The flight was approved for takeoff and flew back to Delhi later that

night.

A

different aircraft from Delhi to Bali was diverted back to the national capital

on Wednesday owing to a volcanic activity near Bali's airport. The airplane

successfully landed in Delhi, and all passengers exited, Air India stated in a

statement. Air India flight AI2145 from Delhi to Bali was instructed to return

to Delhi owing to reports of a volcanic explosion near the target airport,

according to the airline. On Tuesday, AI 2146 was scheduled to depart Denpasar

International Airport in Bali, Indonesia at 10.30 a.m. (local time) and arrive

at Indira Gandhi International Airport at 2.30 p.m.

According

to the flight monitoring website FlightRadar24, the Airbus A321 airliner landed

in Varanasi rather than Delhi at 3.50 p.m.

The airplane was near the Delhi-UP border when it was rerouted to Varanasi,

according to the report. Air India has endured a series of cancellations and

diversions since June 12, when a London-bound aircraft crashed in Ahmedabad

shortly after takeoff. The catastrophe

killed more than 270 people, both on the plane and on the ground. On Tuesday,

Air India cancelled seven foreign flights, bringing the total number of

cancellations by airlines since the Ahmedabad tragedy to more than 80.

On

Tuesday, 14 planes were diverted from Delhi International Airport: six to

Bhopal, three to Chandigarh, two to Amritsar, and one each to Ahmedabad,

Varanasi, and Lucknow.

According

to Flightradar24, around 400 aircraft were delayed or canceled at the airport

on Tuesday. In a post on X, Air India stated that owing to bad weather in

Delhi, our aircraft operations are being interrupted with certain diversions.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi