India, March 20 -- Passengers on board an Air India flight to Vancouver experienced a near eight-hour "flight to nowhere" after the aircraft was forced to return to Delhi due to a regulatory oversight.

Flight AI185 took off from Delhi at 11:34 am on Thursday and initially proceeded along its planned eastward route.

The aircraft, a Boeing 777-200LR, reportedly lacked the necessary regulatory clearance for Canadian operations.

Following the realisation, the aircraft was recalled mid-flight and ultimately landed back in Delhi after a total airborne time of 7 hours and 54 minutes. All passengers and crew disembarked safely, with no reported injuries.

In a statement, the airline cited an "operational issue" and said the decision to turn ba...