All 115 passengers and 15 crew members of the flight AI-111 were reported safe. They were later put on board a new aircraft, though more than five hours later at — 12.15 pm.

The flight took off at 6.50 am but the smoke alarm alerted the pilot within 20 minutes. The pilot immediately sounded the Air Traffic Control, which in turn declared full emergency at the airport. Fire engines, ambulances, ladders and other emergency equipment were deployed close to the runway to avert a possible mishap as the plane landed safely.

The emergency, declared at the airport at 7.50 am, was withdrawn at 8.25 am, IGI sources said. Air India’s executive director Jitender Bhargava said the aircraft is fairly new and was delivered a few months ago. It is among 15 other aircraft Air India had recently ordered. Bhargava ruled out any maintenance problem behind the snag.   

“We are taking up the matter strongly with Boeing (the manufacturer) as it is a very serious issue,” Bhargava said. “We cannot expect a brand new aircraft to have this kind of problem.”

The aircraft has been grounded and full mechanical examination will be carried out to detect the problem. Air India officials said.

According to officials, initial investigations reveal the problem lay with wiring of on-board entertainment. “It seems there was some trouble with the wiring of television sets at the back of seats,” the A-I official said.