Pune: Damaged Air India Aircraft To Be Shifted To Defence Force Premises

The damaged Air India aircraft, currently stationed at a parking bay at Pune Airport, will be shifted to Defence Force premises, Murlidhar Mohol, Minister of State (MoS) for Civil Aviation, informed.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the Pune MP wrote, "The damaged Air India aircraft question is parked at the 'bay' of Pune airport and the same has put a strain on the passenger traffic of other aircraft. Moreover, due to the non-use of this bay, the departure schedule of other flights is being affected (sic)."

"The aircraft is likely to take some more time to repair. Therefore, there is an option to temporarily shift the aircraft to the Defence Force site. On this issue, discussions were held with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh regarding shifting the damaged aircraft on the Defence Force premises," he added.

This Delhi-bound Air India flight had to abort its take-off and was later cancelled after it collided with a luggage tractor trolley while taxiing for departure at Pune Airport on May 16 this year. There were around 200 passengers on board, and following the incident, they were stranded at the airport for around six hours. The passengers were refunded their full fares and offered complimentary rescheduling. Those with onward international connections were accommodated on flights operated by other carriers.

Subsequently, both the airline and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) launched an inquiry to determine the cause of the collision. However, the damaged aircraft is still parked at one of the parking bays at Pune Airport, which will now be shifted, confirmed Santosh Dhoke, Director, Pune Airport.