Air India will cease all operations due to technical difficulties after January 15, 2026. At Indira Gandhi International Airport, there was limited visibility due to heavy fog, and there was visible damage to one of Air India’s Airbus A350-900 engines after it was hit by an object while taxiing down the runway. While the A350-900 was headed toward Delhi after having been rerouted to Anydal, as the fog rolled in and the cloud cover continued to drop, Air India grounded the aircraft until it had been inspected and made safe for its return to flight status. Furthermore, because of the grounding of the Airbus A350-900 aircraft, Air India has alerted its customers to possible disruptions to the schedule of long-haul flights.
In an announcement regarding the incident, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stated that the object in question was not wildlife or storm debris but a cargo container that fell off a vehicle while on the airport taxiway, which the A350 encountered after the A350 landed at approximately 05:25 [local time]. Photos released by the DGCA revealed significant damage done to the air intake area of the A350’s engine, highlighting how a small piece of ground-based equipment could cause such substantial damage to a modern jetliner. The DGCA has launched an investigation to determine how the incident occurred, including inspection of the safety protocols followed by the air traffic control tower, as well as the technical aspects of how the cargo container came to be located on the taxiway and not on the ground.
The situation was operationally challenging at the time of the incident. The A350 was on a flight to New York but had recently made a return flight to Delhi due to a short-lived closure by Iran of its airspace—sharing an insight into how geopolitical situations and weather-related factors determine an airline’s operational timetable in the present age. As the A350 has been taken out of service for an undetermined time, Air India indicated there may be associated cancellations or aircraft swaps of other (older) Boeing aircraft to cover some of its long-haul services using the A350 on key routes (for example, Delhi-London, Delhi-New York). Air India currently operates six aircraft, including the A350, which constitutes the majority of its international long-haul fleet.
At a technical level, the A350 is powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines (high bypass, turbofan). The Trent XWB was designed specifically for the A350 and is known for producing high fuel efficiency and excellent long-range performance. While the Trent XWB is a cutting-edge and very dependable engine, current advancements in aero-engine engineering do not guarantee that an engine will be free from the risk of being impacted by an external foreign body; therefore, there is always a possibility that debris may enter the airflow through the intake, damaging the engine’s fan blades, causing internal vibrations, and necessitating lengthy inspections orreplacements of parts. Rolls-Royce’s corporate and independent in-field reports have indicated that while the design of its engines is substantial and durable, the methods and processes of repairing/issuing airworthy certification of engines following any incident involving foreign body damage through malicious activity or ingestion events are lengthy and tedious.
The problem of foreign object debris (FOD) has been a persistent issue for the aviation industry, ranging from disconnected bolts to packages and animals on the runways. In addition to damaging tyres and obstructing part of the aircraft’s control system, foreign object debris can also be sucked into an aircraft’s engine, leading to costly maintenance and safety inspections. Aviation safety experts and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) advocate for the application of a structured approach for the management of foreign object debris through the utilisation of FOD management programs, sweeps, detection devices, and the implementation of these programs at all airports, as one foreign object debris item on an airport taxiway could potentially mean millions of dollars in lost revenue in addition to unimaginable days of downtime for complicated flight operations.
There have also been instances in 2024 when airlines operating A350 aircraft were directed to inspect parts of their fleets following isolated incidents of engine problems during flight operations occurring at another airline. As such, one single instance of aircraft malfunctioning for one airline can have a trickle-down effect throughout the industry on the procedures followed by maintenance organisations with regard to repairing damaged aircraft engines. Regulatory bodies and manufacturers usually have to take action when these situations happen by overseeing regulations, directing specific inspections, and giving advice, which can lead to delays for other airlines not directly involved.
At present, Air India and the DGCA are addressing two primary areas: repairing the damaged aircraft and identifying why an empty cargo box ended up on a taxiway as planes were preparing to take off during morning fog. For long-haul passengers over the next few days, the best advice is to regularly check your flight status, be prepared to switch planes to another type of aircraft, and expect to see airlines using older workhorses if their A350s remain grounded. In aviation, even tiny errors made at the airport can have exponentially larger effects once aircraft reach cruising altitudes. This incident serves as a stark reminder that, in order for there to be safe operation of an aircraft, it will take more than just technology and the design of the plane’s wings; safety is dependent on apron discipline and how well cargo is secured inside trucks.
