Kochi: An IndiGo flight from Kochi to Abu Dhabi was forced to turn back midway due to a technical snag. The aircraft, with 180 passengers and a six-member crew, was in the air for more than two-and-a-half hours before landing at Kochi early on Saturday. Another plane was arranged for the passengers, the airline said.
The flight (6E-1403) took off at 11.10 pm on Friday and returned to the city at 1.44 am on Saturday, officials said. The aircraft was then grounded. The exact reason for the aircraft’s return was not known.
The airline said that the passengers were flown to Abu Dhabi in another aircraft that took off around 3.30 am with a new crew. The earlier crew had to be replaced due to flight duty time restrictions.
“A technical issue was detected on IndiGo flight 6E 1403 operating from Kochi to Abu Dhabi on September 6, 2025. As a precautionary step, the pilots decided to turn back and the aircraft landed safely at Cochin International Airport. While the aircraft is undergoing necessary maintenance checks before resuming operations, an alternative aircraft was promptly arranged for customers to complete the journey,” IndiGo said in a statement.
As per information available on flight tracking website Flightradar24.com, flight 6E1403 which had returned mid-way, was operated with an A320 neo aircraft.
This is the fourth technical snag reported by airlines this week, Two of these involved IndiGo flights. On Tuesday, an IndiGo flight had to return midway after indicator lights flashed, warning of a problem with the wing flaps. The two other incidents involved Air India and SpiceJet flights. The Air India flight was forced to turn back after a fire alarm in one of its engines. The engine was shut down and a full emergency was declared at the airport when the aircraft landed.