Bird hit forces Air India Express flight to return at Kannur airport

An Air India Express flight from Kannur to Abu Dhabi was forced to return back to the Kannur international airport shortly after take-off on Sunday (September 14, 2025) morning due to a bird hit.

The aircraft took off at 6.36 a.m. with 180 passengers on board, but returned back to the airport 45 minutes later as a precautionary measure.

Airport authorities confirmed that the bird hit the plane during the take-off, prompting the pilot to return back and land safely.

The passengers are safe and were taken to Abu Dhabi on a Sharjah to Kannur service, the officials said.

The safety inspection of the plane, which was moved to the airport’s bay, has been completed. The airport authorities said that there was no damage to the plane. The nose sensor had developed complaints after the bird hit. The tools to fix it should be brought from Thiruvananthapuram.

The passengers were taken to Abu Dhabi on the flight from Sharjah at 2.30 p.m.