IndiGo flight returns from runway twice, leads to a delay of 5 hours

Chaos ensued at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on Saturday afternoon, when an Indore-bound IndiGo flight with 172 passengers returned from the runway twice due to technical snags. Consequently, its departure was delayed by more than 5 hours.

According to the officials, around 11.30 am, IndiGo flight 6E-869, with its standard departure time as 11.10 am, returned from runway number 28/10 after the pilots detected some technical snag. All the 172 passengers were then transferred to another aircraft. But that aircraft, too, developed a snag.

"At 1.56 pm, the said flight was pushed back for departure but again, at 3 pm, it had to return from the same runway due to some technical issue. The passengers were once again de-boarded and brought to the arrival hall," a senior officer said.

The incident led to a ruckus as the agitated passenger started to protest against the management. Some of them gathered at the IndiGo counter to demand immediate arrangements.

"Later, all the passengers were pacified and were issued fresh boarding passes for another aircraft with the same flight number, which finally took off at 5.15 pm," an airport officer said.

Despite repeated attempts, IndiGo officials could not be reached for comments.