Chaos at Mumbai airport as plane stays stuck in slush

A SpiceJet plane with 137 passengers and crew from Bangalore landed under emergency conditions at the airport here this afternoon following a technical problem.

Abhiram Mahajani, 24, left his home in Pune at 10am on Saturday to catch an afternoon flight to Ahmedabad from the Mumbai airport. Just as he was reaching the airport, he got an SMS from the airline stating that the flight had been delayed as the main runway was shut.

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“I wanted to surprise my mother in Ahmedabad. But now I am not sure if I should return to Pune or wait,” said Mahajani. He had been waiting five hours, and had no clue if his flight would take off on Saturday.

Mahajani was among hundreds of fliers stranded at the city airport for the second consecutive day because airport staff was unable to tow away a Turkish Airways flight that has been stuck in the mud next to the main runway since Friday morning. Airport officials said the plane would most likely be cleared out by 8 am on Sunday.