Kochi, Aug. 17 -- Passengers of Air India flight AI 504, scheduled to fly from Kochi to Delhi in the early hours of Monday, faced an unexpected delay after the aircraft aborted the takeoff due to a technical issue and returned to the bay, officials said.

According to Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), the revised time of departure was 1:00 am on Monday.

"A technical issue caused an Air India flight bound for Delhi to abort the takeoff. Air India is rectifying it and has informed Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) that they are changing the aircraft. The expected new time of departure is 0100 hrs", a CIAL PRO said in a statement.

The incident came to light after Congress MP Hibi Eden, who was on board the flight, post...