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New Delhi: An Air India flight bound for Delhi from Kochi was forced to abort its take-off late Sunday night due to a technical snag, sparking concern among passengers and adding to recent scrutiny over the airline's operational safety.
Congress MP Hibi Eden, a passenger on the ill-fated flight, recounted a "something unusual" sensation during the take-off roll, describing it as feeling "like the flight skid on the runway."
“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,” Eden wrote on his X account.
Air India later confirmed the incident involving flight AI 504, which was scheduled to depart Cochin International Airport at 10:40 pm. An airline spokesperson stated that the cockpit crew, following Standard Operating Procedures, decided to discontinue the take-off run upon encountering a technical issue, bringing the aircraft safely back to the bay for maintenance checks.
“The cockpit crew decided to discontinue the take-off run, following Standard Operating Procedures and brought the aircraft back to bay for maintenance checks,” an Air India spokesperson explained.
The airline has expressed "sincere regret" for the inconvenience caused to passengers, assuring that all had disembarked and ground staff in Kochi were providing support. Air India emphasised that "the safety and well-being of passengers and crew remain our top priority" and confirmed that a replacement aircraft was being arranged.
“All passengers have disembarked, and our ground colleagues in Kochi are extending support to them. The inconvenience caused to the passengers due to this unforeseen situation is sincerely regretted. At Air India, the safety and well-being of passengers and crew remain our top priority,” the airline added.
Eden promptly took to social media, posting on X about the aborted take-off and sharing a photograph from inside the cabin on Facebook. He noted that the flight AI 504 had been cancelled, with a new flight announced for 1 am, which had yet to begin boarding, adding that this was the third flight in recent times to be "AOG" (Aircraft on Ground).
This incident closely follows another alleged safety lapse brought to light by Congress MP KC Venugopal just days prior. Venugopal had written to the Union Civil Aviation Minister, demanding a probe into a "near-miss runway tragedy" concerning an Air India flight (AI 2455) from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi on August 8th, on which he and other MPs were travelling.
