SAS Mumbai Bound Flight Forced to Return to Copenhagen Over Missing Approval

An inaugural Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) flight bound for Mumbai was forced to abort its journey and return to Copenhagen after failing to receive a final regulatory approval from authorities.

The flight turned back while the aircraft was flying overhead in Azerbaijan.

The flight, operating as flight SK969, had departed from Copenhagen at approximately 8:30 PM. According to data from the flight-tracking website Flightradar24, the departure took place about four hours behind its original schedule.

SAS confirmed the incident in an official statement, explaining that the flight returned to its origin airport because a final approval expected from the authorities was not issued as had been anticipated. The airline had expected the remaining formal approval to be finalized while the flight was already en route to Mumbai.

The carrier stated that it had completed all necessary operational and regulatory preparations for the launch of this specific Copenhagen-Mumbai route. These preparations followed months of planning and coordination by the airline.

The aircraft used for this inaugural flight was an A330. Despite the extensive planning, the lack of the final expected clearance forced the crew to divert the plane back to Copenhagen.