An Air India flight to Chicago from Hyderabad via Delhi was delayed by over 18 hours due to a technical glitch in the aircraft, causing inconvenience to around 300 passengers, who had to spend more time on ground than they would have taken to fly to their destination.

The Air India plane, a Boeing 777-200ER, operating as flight (AI-126), had arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport New Delhi from Hyderabad on Wednesday evening and was to operate as flight number AI-127 to Chicago.

It was scheduled to depart at 2 am but finally took off for Chicago at around 8.30 pm, after a delay of more than 18 hours.

The flying time between Delhi and Chicago is around 14 hours.

"The flight could not depart on its scheduled time due to a technical glitch. And by the time the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft was made airworthy, the rest and duty time restrictions of the crew came into force, leading to further delay," an Air India official said.

All the passengers, during this period, were provided with hotel and other facilities which are mandated under the Director General of Civil Aviation guidelines for such situations, he said.