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Emirates flight from Mumbai delayed for 3 hrs after pilot seeks addl tech checks
An Emirates spokesperson said flight EK505 was delayed due to additional technical checks and the flight took off after thorough checks
NEW DELHI: An Emirates flight from Mumbai to Dubai took off nearly three hours after its scheduled departure after the pilot detected a technical glitch.
Flight EK 505, operated using a Boeing 777 aircraft, was scheduled to depart at 10:15 am. Passengers had queued up at the aerobridge when the pilots flagged an issue to the airline’s ground staff. The flight eventually took off at 1.04pm, according to the live flight tracking website Flightradar24.
An Emirates spokesperson said the flight EK505 “was delayed due to additional technical checks.”
“After a thorough check, the flight departed two and a half hours later to Dubai, landing without incident at 14:03 pm (local time). Emirates apologises for the inconvenience caused. The safety of our passengers and crew is of the utmost importance,” the spokesperson said.
It is learnt that the aircraft was cleared by the engineering team around 11:30 am, and the boarding resumed around 12.15 pm.
A passenger, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he was on the aerobridge when the staff told them that they didn’t have clearance from the pilot to open the door for the passengers due to a technical fault.
Another passenger who was at the boarding gate said they were asked to return to the waiting area, while those already lined up at the aerobridge had to clear security once again.
To be sure, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) rules require passengers to undergo security screening a second time if they exit the terminal building for boarding but have to return to the building. BCAS oversees the security protocols in place at airports.
A third passenger said the pilot later attributed the delay to a “minor technical fault” that was identified during preparation for the flight. This required investigation by the engineering team. “That was subsequently completed, and now we have a fit-to-fly certificate,” the passenger said, quoting the pilot’s announcement for passengers.
