Two of AirAsia India’s A320 planes from Delhi to Srinagar were forced to return to the national capital within about six hours on Saturday due to a technical snag in the air.
Notably, Delhi-Srinagar flight I5-712, which was being operated on an A320 aircraft with registration number VT-APJ, took off from Delhi airport at around 11.55 am, a passenger on the flight told the news agency. informed PTI,
The passenger said that after the plane took off and as it remained in the air for about half an hour, the pilot announced that the aircraft (VT-APJ) was experiencing a technical fault. VT-APJ aircraft returned safely Delhi Airport With all the passengers at around 1.45 am, the passenger said.
In addition, other AirAsia The passenger said that the A320 aircraft with registration number VT-RED was arranged by the airline for operating the I5-712 flight to take the stranded passengers to Srinagar.
Shortly after the second plane took off, the pilot announced that this plane (VT-raid) had also developed a technical fault and would have to return to the Delhi airport, the passenger said. The VT-red aircraft returned safely to the Delhi airport at around 5.30 pm with the passengers.
Due to this, the airline told passengers that they can either cancel their flight and get a refund, or they can book another flight within the next 30 days, the passenger said.
When asked about the incident, an AirAsia India spokesperson said, “AirAsia India confirms that the flight from Delhi to Srinagar had to return to Delhi due to a technical snag. It is being operated after recovering and from Srinagar.”
“We regret the inconvenience and disruption to our guests’ travel plans and reaffirm our commitment to safety in all our operations,” the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, AirAsia India has started using Taxibot at Bengaluru International Airport, a vehicle that helps an aircraft move between a parking stand and runway without an engine, a statement said on Friday.
The airline started using Taxibot to tow two modified A320 aircraft at the Delhi International Airport on November 23 last year.
“AirAsia India today flagged off the commencement of Taxibot operations at Bengaluru International Airport, following successful trials and subsequent implementation at Delhi International Airport,” the airline statement said.
A taxibot is a semi-robot towbarless aircraft movement device that steers an aircraft from the terminal gate to the take-off point (taxi-out phase) and back to the gate after landing (taxi-in phase). The aircraft’s engines are turned off while the taxibot is in operation.