For the second time in 24 hours, Air India found itself tackling an in-flight emergency. Flight AI2487, an Airbus A321 operating the high-frequency Delhi–Bengaluru corridor, declared a precautionary diversion on the morning of 4 November after cockpit indicators suggested a possible systems fault. The aircraft landed safely at Bhopal’s Raja Bhoj International Airport at 11:05 a.m., where engineers began extensive checks.
Passengers were de-boarded and offered meal vouchers and re-accommodation on later flights. While no injuries were reported, the episode added to mounting scrutiny of Air India’s fleet reliability, coming a day after the San Francisco diversion. The airline said it is "providing immediate assistance" and will arrange onward travel “at the earliest,” but did not give an estimated departure time for the repaired aircraft.
![Technical snag forces Delhi–Bengaluru Air India flight to make unscheduled stop in Bhopal]()
For corporate mobility planners, the incident reinforces the value of having alternate routings between India’s two largest tech hubs. Competitors IndiGo and Vistara operate more than a dozen daily frequencies on the sector; travel desks may need to issue waivers for policy-mandated preferred carriers when safety-related disruptions arise.
Civil-aviation analysts note that diversions of narrow-body aircraft are less costly than wide-body events but can still ripple through a network, triggering crew-duty violations and onward delays. Regulators have asked Air India to submit a preliminary incident report within 72 hours.
Passengers were de-boarded and offered meal vouchers and re-accommodation on later flights. While no injuries were reported, the episode added to mounting scrutiny of Air India’s fleet reliability, coming a day after the San Francisco diversion. The airline said it is "providing immediate assistance" and will arrange onward travel “at the earliest,” but did not give an estimated departure time for the repaired aircraft.
For corporate mobility planners, the incident reinforces the value of having alternate routings between India’s two largest tech hubs. Competitors IndiGo and Vistara operate more than a dozen daily frequencies on the sector; travel desks may need to issue waivers for policy-mandated preferred carriers when safety-related disruptions arise.
Civil-aviation analysts note that diversions of narrow-body aircraft are less costly than wide-body events but can still ripple through a network, triggering crew-duty violations and onward delays. Regulators have asked Air India to submit a preliminary incident report within 72 hours.
