An Air India aircraft bound for Ahmedabad as flight AI2939 on 27 November abruptly discontinued its climb and returned to Delhi within minutes of departure after the flight deck received a persistent smoke warning from the forward cargo hold area. Following established emergency protocols, the captain declared a Mayday, executed a swift 180-degree turn, and performed a flawless overweight landing back at Indira Gandhi International Airport while fire tenders stood by along the runway.

Extensive ground examinations involving sniffer dogs, thermal imaging cameras, and cargo unloading revealed absolutely no evidence of fire, smoke, or dangerous goods, confirming the alert as false. Engineers traced the anomaly to a minor sensor malfunction that has since been rectified. Every passenger and crew member disembarked calmly through regular jet bridges, with medical teams on standby as a precaution.

Air India immediately activated its passenger care protocol, offering hotel accommodation to those facing long waits and rebooking the majority on the next available flights to Ahmedabad the same afternoon. The airline issued a formal statement reiterating that safety triggers, even when subsequently proven spurious, always take absolute precedence over commercial considerations.

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Separately, Air India Express faced intense public backlash on Thursday after abruptly cancelling flight IX2884 from Guwahati to Hyderabad citing unforeseen operational reasons, leaving passengers including Indian pace bowler Mohammed Siraj stranded for hours without clear updates. Siraj vented his frustration on social media, calling it the worst airline experience and urging others to avoid the carrier.

These back-to-back disruptions have amplified passenger concerns about schedule reliability and crisis communication within the newly merged Air India group, particularly during the peak festive and wedding travel period now underway across the country.

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