London-bound Air India flight suffers bird hit, all passengers safe

Air India's Ahmedabad to London flight via Newark suffered a bird hit, forcing the airline to cancel its onward journey from Britain's capital.

AI-171 with 230 passengers onboard suffered a bird hit while it was on its way to London from Ahmedabad on Wednesday. The plane landed at Heathrow Airport at 10:39 AM local time.

The bird hit damaged the nose of the aircraft as well as the radar antenna, the airline said in a statement. Of the total 230 passengers, 50 flyers destined to Newark were accommodated on a different flight.

Travellers on the return leg of the journey from London to Ahmedabad are being accommodated on AI's London-Mumbai flight. The Newark to London leg of this return journey was cancelled by the airline.

The aircraft is undergoing repair and maintenance and will be ready for the next return journey from London to Ahmedabad, the airline said.