Dhaka: An Air India flight from Bhubaneswar to Delhi was cancelled on Sunday (August 3) after a technical issue led to excessively high temperatures in the aircraft cabin just before departure.

According to multiple sources, a malfunction in the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU)—responsible for regulating temperature and providing power on the ground—rendered the backup system inoperative, leaving the aircraft unable to cool its interior.

The affected service, Flight AI500, was scheduled to depart from Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) at 12:35 PM and land in New Delhi at 2:55 PM, carrying 183 passengers.

The issue was detected on the ground at Terminal 1, and passengers were left waiting at the boarding gate for nearly four hours before being informed that the flight was officially cancelled.

An Air India spokesperson confirmed the cancellation, stating: “Flight AI500 scheduled to operate from Bhubaneswar to Delhi on 3 August has been cancelled due to a technical issue causing high cabin temperature on ground prior to departure.

Our airport team in Bhubaneswar is assisting impacted passengers with alternative arrangements to reach their destination.”

Airport Director Prasanna Pradhan also confirmed that the flight was cancelled around 4:45 PM due to the temperature issue.

The APU, typically located in the aircraft’s fuselage, supplies power when the plane is on the ground and is critical for operating air conditioning and other systems.

One source indicated that the maintenance of the APU had been outsourced to a third-party ground handling agency, which also manages various other services for the airline. The source described the incident as a result of “negligence” on the agency’s part.

This is the latest in a series of technical glitches that have disrupted Air India operations over the past two months.

In response, Air India rebooked passengers on later flights Sunday night or on alternate airlines the following day. Full refunds were offered to those who opted out of rebooking, and hotel accommodations were arranged for stranded passengers requiring overnight stays.

-B