Chandigarh: Yet another flight had to be grounded due to a technical snag. This happened at the Chandigarh airport on Sunday even as an IndiGo flight was about to take off for Lucknow with 177 passengers.
The aircraft, operating as flight 6E-146, was scheduled to take off at 7.10 am.
According to sources, the aircraft began taxiing from the parking bay towards the runway when the pilot detected a technical malfunction. Responding swiftly, the pilot halted the aircraft and returned it to the parking area. All passengers were then safely deboarded. The flight was subsequently cancelled.
This comes amid massive rescheduling of flights across the country due to enhanced safety checks and closure of air space in the region.
In a communication to affected passengers, the airline cited “operational reasons” for the cancellation and provided links to manage refunds or re-bookings online. The message read: “Dear passenger, due to operational reasons, your flight 6E-146 has been cancelled. Please click here to choose an alternative flight or get a refund”.
The incident caused frustration and delays for many passengers, some of whom were forced to make last-minute changes to their travel plans. IndiGo offered full refunds and alternative travel options, including connecting flights from Delhi to Lucknow.
While the airline has not released an official statement specifying the nature of the technical fault, maintenance teams were seen working on the grounded aircraft throughout the day. The issue had not been resolved by evening, and no fresh departure time was announced.
Pilots across airlines are taking even minor issues very seriously after the deadly air crash in Ahmedabad on June 12 that killed 229 passengers and 12 crew of an ill-fated Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that was bound for Gatwick in London. Several people were killed on the ground as well.
