The Airbus 320, carrying 132 passengers, had left for the Indian city from the Riyadh airport via Muscat at 11.15 a.m.

According to airline officials flight AI920 reached Muscat at 1.30 p.m. and its ongoing journey had to be delayed indefinitely due to technical snags.

Following six hours of transit at the Muscat airport, engineers found that the aircraft had to be grounded due to a major repair needed on its brakes.

According to a stranded passenger speaking from Oman, Mohamed Mustaffa, the aircraft failed to take off even after minor repairs were done at Muscat airport.

"While the aircraft was running on the tarmac as it was preparing to take off from Muscat airport, the pilot applied sudden brakes, which panicked the passengers on board," Mustaffa said.

He added that the passengers were asked to disembark and then accommodated at Hotel Mudra in the Omani capital.

While engineers were inspecting the grounded plane, a relief aircraft was being dispatched from Mumbai to ferry stranded passengers to their destination, an Air India spokesperson from Muscat said.

He added that the relief plane would take off from Oman before midnight on Friday.

Airline sources told Arab News that the substitute aircraft could only carry 126 stranded passengers.

However, they added that Air India would send the remaining passengers on subsequent flights.

Air India Manager for Riyadh Prabhu Chandran had left for Cochin on a subsequent flight from KKIA on Friday morning.