Air India Pilots Fly Wrong 787 Aircraft to Canada, Flight Diverted

Tata Group-owned Air India non-stop flight AI 187 from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport to Toronto Pearson International Airport was diverted to Vienna on August 11, 2026, after the airline deployed the wrong aircraft.

The Boeing 787-9 took off from Delhi at 2:22 AM local time for what was intended to be a roughly 16-hour non-stop journey. Because the aircraft lacked the required certification for the full ultra-long-haul sector, the pilots were forced to make a technical stop in Vienna, landing safely at 7:24 AM local time. After about two hours on the ground for refuelling, the flight departed Vienna at 9:18 AM and arrived in Toronto at 11:40 AM local time.

Air India had previously operated the Delhi-Toronto service with a fuel stop in Vienna due to airspace restrictions. The airline converted the route to non-stop operations from August 1, 2026, after taking delivery of new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners capable of the longer range. The carrier currently operates three newer 787-9s, in addition to earlier aircraft previously flown by Vistara.

The issue stemmed from differences in aircraft specifications. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration recently certified an increased Maximum Takeoff Weight for the Boeing 787-9 and 787-10, allowing greater payload or extended range. Air India received some of its new 787-9s with this iMTOW capability specifically to enable the non-stop Delhi-Toronto service. On the August 11 flight, however, an aircraft without the necessary iMTOW certification was assigned, making a direct flight with full payload and fuel requirements unfeasible and requiring the intermediate stop.

The diversion restored the previous operational pattern of a Vienna tech stop, adding several hours to passengers’ total journey time. All passengers and crew arrived safely in Toronto.