NEW DELHI: Flyers faced a tough time on Sunday during the long weekend as two Air India flights aborted take-off — one due to a technical glitch detected by pilots and the other due to a maintenance issue. The affected services were Delhi–Leh and Mumbai–Ahmedabad. Passengers eventually flew on alternate aircraft after delays of four and six hours, respectively.
Flight AI 2479 from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport to Leh, scheduled for 4:55 am with over 100 passengers on an A320 Neo, was first affected. Passengers said the aircraft reached the runway when the captain announced a technical fault, forcing cancellation. The passengers were later shifted to another plane, which departed at 8:05 am.
One passenger, speaking on condition of anonymity, recounted the ordeal: “We were first told to rush from Gate 30 to Gate 36. After boarding, the aircraft reached the runway but stood there for five minutes before the captain announced the cancellation. We were made to alight and return to the terminal. At 6 am, while still inside the plane, we received a mail that our flight was rescheduled to 7:30 am.”
“After alighting, we had to go through security checks again. Food coupons were given at 6:40 am, but by 7 am we had to be back at the boarding gate. Many skipped breakfast or left it midway to rush. Boarding began at 7:20 am and the flight finally took off at 8:05 am,” the passenger added.
The second flight, AI 613 from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, scheduled for 5:30 am, was also cancelled moments before take-off due to maintenance issues. According to flight-tracking website FlightAware, the service eventually departed at 11:21 am.
Air India said in a statement: “Flight AI 2479 returned to bay shortly after pushback due to a suspected technical issue and Flight AI 613 returned to bay shortly after pushback due to a suspected maintenance issue. Subsequently, all passengers were disembarked, and an alternative aircraft was deployed to operate the flight. We regret the inconvenience caused to the affected passengers due to this unforeseen situation.”