Toronto-Delhi Air India flight diverted due to lavatory issue

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Toronto-Delhi Air India flight diverted due to lavatory issue
06 May 2025


A direct Air India flight on the route between Toronto and Delhi was forced to divert and land in Frankfurt on May 2.

The unexpected diversion was caused by several lavatories on board becoming inoperative mid-flight.

This is the second such incident involving an Air India flight in two months.


Flight AI188's unscheduled landing
Diversion details


AI188, a Boeing 777, was in the air for approximately six hours when the lavatory started malfunctioning. The crew then decided to land the plane at Frankfurt for maintenance.

An Air India spokesperson confirmed the diversion due to a technical issue and assured that safety is their top priority.

However, the airline hasn't revealed details about the cause of this lavatory malfunction yet.


Flight AI188 resumed its journey after maintenance
Resumption


After a short break for repairs, the plane was able to resume its journey and finally arrived in Delhi on the evening of May 3.

The flight had taken off from Toronto's Pearson International Airport at 6:14pm local time.

This comes after a similar incident in March when an Air India flight from Chicago to Delhi had to turn back after over 10 hours in the air as several lavatories were inoperative.


Similar problem occurred in March
Background


In the March incident, the Air India flight that took off from Chicago was forced to circle back after all but one of its toilets became clogged and inoperable.

The only one that worked was in business class, leaving over 340 passengers with limited access.

This forced the flight to return to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport after being airborne for over 10 hours.

The incident happened when the aircraft was over Greenland.