NEW DELHI: An IndiGo flight carrying more than 250 passengers from London to Delhi made an air turnback shortly after take-off in the early hours of Wednesday following a technical issue detected onboard.
An emergency was declared, following which the aircraft was given priority to land at London Heathrow Airport. All passengers disembarked safely.
Flight 6E 04, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, departed London Heathrow at 12.34 am IST (8.04 pm local time on Tuesday) and returned to the airport at 1.53 am IST (9.23 pm local time).
Reports from London said the cockpit crew detected smoke onboard after take-off and decided to return to Heathrow. The crew informed Air Traffic Control about an emergency.
IndiGo attributed the incident to a technical issue. In a statement, the airline said, “A technical issue was detected shortly after take-off on IndiGo flight 6E 04 operating from London to New Delhi on 22 September. Following standard operating procedures, the pilots decided to turn back and landed the aircraft safely at London Heathrow Airport. The aircraft is currently undergoing maintenance checks and will resume operations after securing all necessary clearances.”
The airline said it was making all possible efforts to minimise the inconvenience caused to passengers, including offering hotel accommodation and placing them on the next available flights to ensure they reached their destination.
“The safety of our customers, crew, and aircraft remains our top priority,” IndiGo said.