New Delhi: Air India on Wednesday alerted passengers that the departure of some of its flights may be delayed due to a “third-party connectivity network issue” that had affected check-in systems at several airports.

The Tata Group airline confirmed that the system has now “been restored”, but some delays may persist as operations stabilise across airports.

“Passengers flying with us today may check their flight status on airindia.com before heading to the airport and allow extra time for their journey,” the airline said in a statement.

Relief Flight Operated for Stranded Passengers in Mongolia

Meanwhile, Air India said on Tuesday that it had operated a relief flight to ferry passengers of the San Francisco–Delhi flight that was diverted to Mongolia due to a suspected technical issue.

Flight AI174, operating from San Francisco to Delhi via Kolkata on November 2, made a precautionary landing at Ulaanbaatar after the crew reported a possible technical fault mid-route.

In coordination with local authorities and the Indian Embassy in Mongolia, Air India arranged accommodation and assistance for the stranded passengers and crew.

“Guests have been kept informed about the arrangements being made to fly them to Delhi. At Air India, the safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew remain top priority,” an Air India spokesperson said.

The airline earlier confirmed that the aircraft landed safely and underwent technical checks before resuming operations.

DGCA Extends Flight Duty Time for Boeing 787 Crews

In a related development, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) last week granted Air India a temporary extension of flight duty time limits for two-pilot Boeing 787 Dreamliner operations on European routes.

The move was prompted by longer flight paths caused by the ongoing closure of Pakistani airspace.

Under the revised norms, the Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) has been increased from 10 hours to 10 hours and 30 minutes, while the Flight Duty Period (FDP) has been extended from 13 hours to 14 hours.

The DGCA said the decision was based on “specific operational reasons” to ensure continuity of long-haul services amid the altered routing requirements.