NEW DELHI: An IndiGo flight from Bengaluru to Mumbai carrying more than 200 passengers returned to the bay before take-off on Friday evening after suffering a bird hit. The passengers were asked to disembark, and the same aircraft departed 103 minutes later after being cleared for operations.
Flight 6E 6283, an A321 Neo aircraft, was scheduled to depart from Terminal 1 of Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). It began taxiing for take-off at 7.05 pm when it reportedly suffered a bird hit.
“It was taxiing on the runway for the take-off roll before taking off when it reportedly suffered a bird hit. The pilot decided to return to the bay as a precautionary measure. The flight did not suffer any major damage. The protocol to be observed in such incidents was followed, and the flight took off with the passengers later,” said an IndiGo source.
After the aircraft returned, passengers disembarked and went back to the Terminal 1 building.
“All checks were completed on the aircraft and it was found fully fit to fly. The passengers were flown by the same aircraft to Mumbai,” the source said.
According to the FlightAware website, the flight departed Bengaluru again at 8.46 pm and landed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport at 10.29 pm, instead of its scheduled arrival time of 8.40 pm.
Bengaluru airport is among the airports most prone to bird strikes in South India and usually ranks among the top four in the country. According to data from aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), a total of 535 bird strikes were reported at KIA between 2022 and May 2025.
When contacted, a spokesperson for the airport did not provide any information on the incident.