An Air India flight from Kochi to Gatwick was on Sunday cancelled following a technical fault in the aircraft that was noticed just minutes before it was set to take off, an airline source said.

The AI 149 flight, which was scheduled to take off with 252 passengers on board at 2.15 pm, returned from the taxiway at 2.30 pm and everyone was deboarded as the aircraft was checked for the cause of the technical fault, the airline source said.

As the aircraft was not found fit to undertake the flight today, it was cancelled and those not wishing to reschedule their trip or avail of seats in other airlines were issued a full refund and an appropriate monetary compensation, the source said.

"We are trying to accommodate passengers (those who do not want to cancel their tickets) on other airlines and have arranged hotel accommodations for them as well as those who are unable to return to their homes today," the source said.

"Since Air India accords top priority to safety issues, our engineering team went for a thorough check. But then the aircraft could not be restored for flying. So the flight regrettably had to be cancelled. We took all care of the passengers," the source added.

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