New Delhi: It turned out to be a nearly 14-hour ordeal for passengers on an IndiGo flight from Delhi to Manchester on Monday after it was forced to return due to last-minute airspace restrictions linked to the ongoing West Asia crisis.
The aircraft remained airborne for nearly eight hours over Africa before the pilots decided to return to Delhi, The New Indian Express reported.
The Boeing 787 aircraft, operating as flight 6E 033 that took off from Delhi at 12.30 am on Monday, avoided the conflict-affected Persian Gulf region entirely, routing instead over Africa. It entered the continent through Ethiopia and was flying over Eritrea when it made a U-turn and began heading back to Delhi. It eventually landed back at the Indira Gandhi International Airport around 2.30 pm.
The flight had to return due to “last-minute airspace restrictions” arising from the evolving situation in West Asia, IndiGo said in a statement. It was coordinating with relevant authorities to assess the possibility of resuming the journey, the airline said.
IndiGo is operating its flights to European cities and London, except for Athens, with Boeing 787-9 aircraft leased from Norway’s Norse Atlantic Airways.
The incident highlights the operational challenges airlines face as conflicts disrupt one of the world’s most important aviation corridors between Europe and Asia. Rapidly changing airspace advisories are forcing carriers to alter routes or suspend flights altogether.
Such disruptions often mean diversions, cancellations or significantly longer travel times for passengers, along with extended waiting periods at airports and uncertainty over departures and arrivals.
