Timely intervention by the Air Traffic Control (ATC) averted a near collision between an Air India and IndiGo plane at the IGI airport on Friday.

Air India’s Delhi-Goa AI156 was about to take off at 11.15 am when the ATC asked the pilot to stop and come back to bay. IndiGo’s Ranchi-Delhi 6E398 landed on the same runway minutes later. The Air India aircraft finally took off for Goa at 12.50 pm.

However, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the Air India aircraft was asked to reject take-off as per normal protocol. There was “no collision issue, no infringement” and safety was not compromised.

Sources said pilots of both planes followed Standard Operating Procedure. The Indigo flight was allowed to land but when it touched down, the pilot saw the Air India flight at the converging point and took off again. The Air India pilot informed the ATC and returned to the bay.