Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], September 18 (ANI): An Air India Express flight from Vishakhapatnam to Hyderabad made a precautionary landing in Vizag over a suspected bird strike on Thursday, an Air India Express spokesperson said.

An Air India Express spokesperson said, 'One of our aircraft suffered a bird strike at Visakhapatnam and returned to the airport after take-off. The flight had to be cancelled pending certification of the aircraft's feasibility to return to service. We regret the inconvenience and have offered multiple options to impacted guests, including complimentary rescheduling to our next flight on the same day, or a full refund if they elect to cancel.'

Earlier, in a question from Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien on July 21, on the number of people injured and the number of deaths resulting from bird hits across the country during the last five years, Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said that during the last five years, no injury or death of any person was reported due to bird and animal strikes at Indian airports.

According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the number of confirmed bird strikes in 2020 stood at 674, in 2021 it stood at 775, in 2022 it stood at 1131, in 2023 it stood at 1371, in 2024 it stood at 1278 and in 2025 it stood at 511 (till June).

On June 23, Air India was forced to cancel its scheduled flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi due to a suspected bird hit on its inbound journey from the national capital.

Air India Flight AI 2455 from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi was cancelled. The cancellation was triggered after Air India flight AI2454 from Delhi to Thiruvananthapuram reported a suspected bird hit upon landing.

An Air India spokesperson said, 'Air India regrets to inform that flight AI2455, from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi, on 22 June 2025, is cancelled due to extended engineering checks after a suspected bird hit was detected after the aircraft landed safely in Thiruvananthapuram. The inconvenience caused to our passengers due to this unforeseen disruption is sincerely regretted, and every effort is being made to minimise it, including providing accommodation to passengers. Refunds on cancellation or complimentary rescheduling are also being offered to guests who opt for it. Alternative arrangements are being made to fly the passengers to Delhi. At Air India, the safety of our passengers and crew remains our top priority.' (ANI)