Delhi-Leh flight returns to IGI 2 hours after take-off due to technical issues

IndiGo flight 6E2006 with 140 passengers took off from the Delhi airport at 6.30 am, made a turnaround at 7.30 am and landed at 8.30am

A Leh-bound IndiGo flight returned to Delhi on Thursday two hours after take-off and made an emergency landing after developing a technical snag mid-air, officials said. The flight landed at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport safely and passengers were provided an alternative aircraft, which departed at 10.30am, officials said.

The flight landed at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport safely and passengers were provided an alternative aircraft, which departed at 10.30am. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

Airport officials said the IndiGo flight 6E2006 with 140 passengers took off from the Delhi airport at 6.30 am. The flight made a turnaround at 7.30 am, landing back safely at the Delhi airport at 8.30am after seeking priority landing.

IndiGo, in a statement, said its flight had a technical issue which caused operational restrictions to land in Leh. “According to procedures, the pilot returned to Delhi. The aircraft is undergoing necessary maintenance before resuming operations. In the meantime, an alternative aircraft has been arranged to fly the customers to Leh,” said the statement.

“We regret the inconvenience caused to the customers and remain committed to the safety and security of our customers and crew.” it added.

An airport official confirmed the incident, stating there was a technical problem in one of the engines of the aircraft. “The flight landed safely at the airport at around 8.30 am, with passengers and crew also disembarking safely. A second flight left the airport at around 10.36 am,” the official said.

Days earlier, on Sunday, an Air India flight from Delhi to Vadodara had to return back to the capital around 30 minutes after taking-off due to a technical snag. While the flight had departed at 6.50 pm, it landed safely back in Delhi by 7.20 pm, with the crew and passengers disembarking safely for precautionary checks to be carried out.