Air India Express flight circles Lucknow 28 times, returns to Delhi

India Jan 04, 2026

An Air India Express flight from Delhi to Lucknow had quite a journey—twice in one week, it couldn't land because of heavy fog and super low visibility (just 125 meters on the runway).
Each time, the pilot had to keep circling over Lucknow for over an hour before finally heading back to Delhi.

The looping saga: Two mornings, 28 circles

On January 2 and again on January 4, Flight IX2171 tried to land in Lucknow but ended up making a total of 28 loops over the city across both days.
Passengers spent nearly three hours in the air across both days before returning safely to Delhi—definitely not your average morning commute!