A flight of Air India with 175 onboard passengers faced a mid-air scare on Friday, 17 May. The flight that caught fire mid-air is suspected to have started in the air conditioning unit. Indira Gandhi Airport in Delhi declared a full emergency after this incident.
The Air India flight from Delhi to Bangalore was forced to get back to Delhi when the air-conditioning unit caught fire mid-air. A full emergency was declared by the Indira Gandhi Airport in Delhi triggered by this incident.
According to a media report, Flight 807 from Delhi to Bangalore landed safely around 6:38 pm. As per the report, some alternative arrangements were made for the passengers flying to Bengaluru. A flight tracking website also shared that the flight was operated by an aircraft A321.
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Delhi Fire Services officials shared that they pressed three fire tenders into service to extinguish the fire. The flight took off from the international airport in Delhi at 5:20 pm. They received the call at 6:15 pm from the Indira Gandhi Airport regarding the fire, shared the official. No injuries were reported.
Reports of the fire arose roughly after half-an-hour into the flight. Th pilot swiftly responded to this event and initiated a safe return to Delhi prioritising the safety of the passengers and crew on board. The aircraft touched down safely. Firefighting crews were on standby to take the situation under control. The airplane made a safe precautionary landing.
A spokesperson for Air India said that the flight AI807 that was flying from Delhi to Bengaluru returned to Delhi in the evening after the auxiliary power unit had given a fire warning. Even after the pilots had exercised all the essential protocols, an uneventful landing was made. However, all the crew and the passengers were deplaned the aerobridge safely.
Alternative arrangement by the airline were made for the passengers who could not reach the destination in the expected time. The spokesperson also said that the Air India prioritises the well-being and safety of its passengers. Air India colleagues working on the ground have made alternative arrangements for all the guests to make it back to their location at the earliest.
The report also mentioned that around 2000 passengers were to board the flight post the incident. The passengers to board the flight got stranded for straight six hours at the Indira Gandhi Airport.
All the flight passengers of Air India were refunded full fares. They were also offered complementary rescheduling. Passengers with onward international connections were also accommodated on upcoming flights operated by carriers other than Air India. Th airline shared that an investigation on the matter has been initiated.
This is the second time Air India struggled for its fate. Earlier, a Delhi-bound Air India flight was cancelled. The flight had hit a luggage tractor trolley while taxing for department at the airport in Pune. The incident happened around 4 pm on Thursday, 16 May.
