A Kolkata-bound flight of IndiGo from Jorhat in Assam was cancelled on Thursday midnight after one of the aircraft’s wheels skidded off from the runway while taxiing for take-off, officials said on Friday.
Flight 6E-757 was to take off around 2pm on Thursday but while it was moving towards the runway one main wheel ran over the nearby grass. The pilot stopped the plane and all 98 passengers were de-boarded.
“IndiGo flight 6E-757 operating from Jorhat to Kolkata returned back to bay during departure. While taxiing out the pilot was advised that one of the main wheels had partially run over the grass adjacent to the taxiway,” the airline said in a statement.
An Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said the IndiGo flight to Kolkata was cancelled after being held up for several hours at Jorhat due to a “technical issue”.
“There was no major incident and none of the passengers or crew sustained injuries. The flight got delayed initially but after airlines officials noticed some minor glitch, it was cancelled around midnight,” said Krishna Kumar, director of Jorhat airport of Airport Authority of India (AAI).
“The aircraft is still stationed at the parking bay of the airport. The passengers are stranded as no alternate flight has arrived. It is for the passengers and the airlines to decide whether passengers will get a refund or they will be accommodated in some other flight,” he said.