Delhi-bound Air India flight aborts take off in Kochi, MP on board says, 'Felt like flight skid on runway'
The incident came to light after Congress MP Hibi Eden, who was on board the flight, posted on social media that the aircraft seemed to have skidded on the runway.
An Air India flight from Kochi to Delhi, scheduled for the early hours of Monday, was unexpectedly delayed after the aircraft aborted takeoff due to a technical issue and returned to the bay, officials said. Among the passengers on board was Lok Sabha MP and Congress leader Hibi Eden.
Details about the number of passengers on board the flight could not be immediately ascertained.
A Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) spokesperson said that a technical issue caused the Air India flight to abort the take off, and the airline is changing the aircraft and the flight is now expected to depart at 1 am on Monday.
"A technical issue caused an Air India flight bound for Delhi to abort the takeoff. Air India is rectifying it and has informed Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) that they are changing the aircraft. The expected new time of departure is 0100 hrs", a CIAL PRO said in a statement.
Air India statement on Delhi-Kochi flight
An Air India spokesperson said that flight AI504 operating from Kochi to Delhi on 17 August has been rescheduled to depart later this evening, necessitated by a technical issue detected during the take-off roll. "The cockpit crew decided to discontinue the take-off run following standard operating procedures and brought the aircraft back to the bay for maintenance checks," the spokesperson said.
Regretting the inconvenience caused to the passengers, the Air India spokesperson said, "All passengers have disembarked and our ground colleagues in Kochi are extending support to them."
The flight AI 504 was to be operated with an Airbus A321 aircraft, according to information available on flight tracking website Flightradar24.com.
MPs on board share ordeal
The matter came to light after Ernakulam Congress MP Hibi Eden posted on social media that the aircraft in which he was travelling seemed to have skidded off the runway while attempting to take off. "Something unusual with this flight AI 504, it just felt like the flight skid on the runway and hasn't taken off yet. Air India cancelled AI 504 and announced a new flight at 1 am which hasn't still started boarding, today is the third flight which has been AOG," he said in an X post
Rajya Sabha MP Jebi Mather, also on board, said the pilot later announced that the aircraft could not be used for travel. "Now pilot announced...this aircraft cannot be used for travel. So, will be shifting passengers to another aircraft and approx by 1 am," Mather said.
Air India cancels Milan-Delhi flight due to maintenance issue
Meanwhile, Tata Group-owned private carrier Air India also cancelled its Milan-Delhi flight of August 16 after detecting a maintenance issue at the last minute. Alternative arrangements are being made to fly the passengers to their destination at the earliest, Air India said in a statement.
"Flight AI138 operating from Milan to Delhi on August 16 was cancelled due to a maintenance task identified during pushback. Our ground team in Milan extended immediate assistance to all the affected passengers, providing hotel accommodation and offering full refunds on cancellation or complimentary rescheduling as opted by the passengers," the statement said.
According to Air India, the delay was caused not only by a maintenance issue but also because the operating crew had reached their mandatory flight duty-time limitation. The airline typically deploys its Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft fleet for services to European destinations.
Since coming under private ownership in January 2022, Air India has faced a series of last-minute flight delays and cancellations, largely due to technical and maintenance problems. This comes despite repeated assurances from the airline’s CEO and Managing Director, Campbell Wilson, that comprehensive checks have been conducted on its Boeing 787 fleet.
(With agnecies input)
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