NEW DELHI, AUGUST 22: Air India's Mumbai-New Delhi-Tokyo flight AI-308, scheduled to fly out last Saturday, seems to be jinxed. First, a technical snag delayed the flight; then when it took off at 9.30 am on Monday, over 36 hrs behind schedule, it had to return barely six hours later.According to Air India, the Chinese aviation authority did not permit the flight to enter its airspace. ``We are unable to understand or explain why flight AI 308 was refused entry into Chinese airspace by the Kunming FIR authorities. We have close and cordial relations with the Chinese Aeronautical Authorities and with the National Airlines of the People's Republic of China. The incident is being investigated by the DGCA and has been reported to the Ministry of Civil Aviation,'' read a statement issued by Air India on Tuesday. Due to the wrangling, the flight took off at 10.30 pm on Monday night.On Saturday, the flight, with 317 passengers on board, was set to take off when a snag was discovered in a ``key'' spare part. Sources say the flight could not take off even on Sunday as the part which was to be replaced had to be brought from Mumbai. After being grounded for 36 hours, the flight took off at 9.30 am on Tuesdsay, but returned at 3.30 pm.For an international flight, it's routine procedure for an airline to inform Air Traffic Control of all countries over which it flies. ``Since all flights normally follow a Pre-Destination Route (PDR), any change of plan has to be immediately informed to the country over which the plane is flying.'' And since the pilots have little room to deviate from the PDR, any refusal means the plane has to return.According to the AI, ``All route Flight Information Regions (FIRs) namely Calcutta, Dhaka, Yangoon (Burma), Kunming, Guanjhau, Shanghai (Poeple's Republic of China) and Tokyo.
