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Indigo plane skids off runway at BIA

Last Updated 12 September 2013, 21:42 IST

More than 100 passengers on board an Indigo flight from Delhi had a narrow escape, after the Airbus A-320 veered to the right and broke at least four runway lights on landing at the Bengaluru International Airport in Devanahalli here on Thursday evening.

Airport sources blamed poor weather conditions worsened by heavy showers for the incident.

The incident deflated the aircraft’s right tyres. Once the passengers were deplaned safely, the aircraft was grounded for maintenance. Airline sources said all the 110 passengers and six crew members on board were safe, and no injuries were reported.

All flight arrivals and take-offs were suspended for at least three hours, before operations resumed at 11.45 pm. The runway was closed for over three hours, triggering all round disruption in flight schedules. 

The Indigo flight 6E-125 had landed on runway 27 at BIA at 8.10 pm. An Air India flight from Kolkata was the first to land after the runway reopened. Many domestic and international flights scheduled to land at BIA during the three-hour suspension were diverted to Chennai and Hyderabad. The Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) has launched an inquiry into the incident.

Meanwhile, the flight delays sparked absolute chaos at the airport. Over 1,500 people were at the terminal anxiously waiting for some news. But they were upset and angry that no specific information was forthcoming.

Neither did the closed circuit screens display any details about the delays. A senior citizen had to get a call from his relative in Singapore to know that his daughter’s flight from there had been diverted to Chennai. Several international passengers were clueless about the schedules.

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(Published 12 September 2013, 21:41 IST)

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