THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Air India Express flight from Kerala’s capital city to Dubai was forced to return back to Shankhumugham airport after pilots discerned improper working of the air conditioning within the carrier. The flight took off from Thiruvananthapuram at 1:19 pm but returned back to the same airport at 3:59 pm on Sunday.

The flight, (IX 539) had a total of 178 passengers on board including six cabin crew members. However, the airline service promptly arranged for another aircraft( IX 556) for the stranded passengers. The resumed journey started at 6:00 pm on Sunday. As part of precaution, a local standby was announced at the airport. Air India later apologized for the inconvenience caused.