Delhi-bound flight makes emergency landing in Chennai airport

CHENNAI: An IndiGo flight bound for New Delhi was forced to make an emergency landing after taking off from the city airport in the early hours of Tuesday due to a sudden technical glitch.

The aircraft, carrying 142 passengers and six crew members, was stopped on the runway as a precautionary measure.

Scheduled to depart at 2:30 am, the flight encountered an issue as the pilot detected a technical problem mid-air and immediately alerted the Chennai airport control room. Realising the potential risk of continuing the flight, the pilot executed an emergency stop on the runway.

Following the incident, a towing vehicle was brought in to move the aircraft to a remote bay for inspection.

A team of airline engineers boarded the plane and worked to resolve the issue. After approximately 90 minutes, the technical fault was rectified, clearing the aircraft for departure.

The flight eventually took off at 4 am after necessary safety checks.

Commenting on this, the airline said, "IndiGo flight 6E 456 operating from Chennai to Delhi on March 18 returned to the bay due to a technical issue. The aircraft underwent necessary maintenance, and after all checks were completed, it was cleared for departure. To make the waiting period comfortable, refreshments were served on board."

(The copy was updated with the airline's statement to DT Next)