Air India flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai returns due to AC issue

An Air India Express flight from the Kerala state capital to Dubai returned, on Sunday, barely a couple of hours after take off due to an issue with the air conditioning system of the aircraft, Thiruvananthapuram airport officials said.

The flight, IX 539, which took off with 178 people onboard — including the crew — from here at 1.19 PM returned back and landed safely at 3.52 PM, an airport official said.

"The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew are fine. A local standby was declared. It was an AC issue," the official said.