A Delhi-bound IndiGo aircraft from Amritsar missed the taxiway after landing at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on Sunday.The incident led to the blocking of a runway for some 15 minutes. The A320 aircraft went to the dead end of the runway 28/10. This latest episode comes amid a series of incidents in recent days involving the airline.
An airline spokesperson said the aircraft from Amritsar to Delhi missed the exit taxiway after landing at the Delhi airport due to low visibility. After missing the designated taxiway, the A320 aircraft, operating flight 6E 2221, went to the dead end of the runway 28/10 at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), the sources in the know said.
The plane landed on runway 28/10 at around 8.30 am but could not exit to the designated taxiway. As a result, the runway was blocked for little over 15 minutes, the sources added. They said that a towing tractor towed the aircraft to a parking bay, following which normal operations resumed on the runway.
One of the sources said that after the plane landed at the airport, an air traffic controller asked the pilot to vacate the runway to taxiway K6. However, due to low visibility, the aircraft could not move to the taxiway, the source added.
In a statement, the IndiGo spokesperson said the aircraft missed the exit taxiway due to low visibility.
“The aircraft was stopped on the runway and was towed to the parking bay by a tug. IndiGo prioritises operational safety above all else and regrets any inconvenience caused to passengers,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
IGIA is the country’s largest airport and handles around 1,400 flights daily. It has four operational runways.
On January 31, chaos erupted at the Delhi airport as passengers protested after IndiGo cancelled a flight to Deoghar, Jharkhand. The angry flyers raised slogans like ‘Indigo Chor Hai’, questioning the airline’s sudden decision.
Also last month, cricketer Mayank Agarwal filed a police complaint after drinking ‘poisonous liquid’ in a Delhi-bound IndiGo flight.
Following the incident, he had to be hospitalised in Agartala.
In another episode also in January, pilots of an IndiGo flight from Delhi to Baku were removed from flying duty as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) launched a probe to find out whether they had taken off without the required air traffic control (ATC) clearance.
Around the same time, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) had imposed a fine of Rs 1.2 crore on IndiGo after passengers were seen sitting on the tarmac and eating food while waiting for their delayed flight.
In one of the major incidents, a frustrated passenger was caught on camera hitting the pilot of an IndiGo flight while the latter was making an announcement regarding delays.
