IndiGo’s highly anticipated resumption of European operations following a week-long suspension due to Middle East tensions has been thrown into chaos. Within hours of restarting services, the airline faced a dual crisis after a London-bound flight was forced to return to Delhi after a 14-hour journey and a Mumbai-bound flight remained stranded in Egypt, leaving passengers stuck inside the stationary aircraft for over seven hours.
Airspace restrictions impact operations
The low-cost carrier operates direct services from Delhi and Mumbai to London, Manchester, and Amsterdam but has been forced to shut them since the start of the Middle East conflict due to a regulatory roadblock.
The airline operates the route on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner leased from Norway-based Norse Atlantic Airways, which falls under the jurisdiction of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which has issued a blanket ban on its registered aircraft flying over critical war zones.
Unlike European carriers which can reroute over Pakistan, Indian carriers remain barred from Pakistani airspace due to ongoing reciprocal restrictions.
Flights rerouted via Africa
The airline tried to resume its Europe operations from Sunday by rerouting via Djibouti in Africa, adding over 100 nautical miles and making the Mumbai-London route 28% longer.
However, after a day of successful operations, the trouble began with flight 6E-2, which departed London Heathrow for Mumbai at 3 am Indian time on March 9.
According to flight tracking platforms, the aircraft took a U-turn over the Red Sea at around 8.50 am, circled over Jeddah, and ultimately diverted to Egypt, landing at Cairo International Airport at 11.51 am.
Passengers stranded inside aircraft
Reports from the ground indicate a harrowing experience for over 300 passengers on board. According to passengers who spoke to The Free Press Journal, the crew initially informed them that they were returning to London but then stated that they were taking a refuelling stop at Cairo and would subsequently proceed to Mumbai.
However, the passengers were stranded inside the aircraft for over seven hours as the airline negotiated with regional authorities to allow them to deplane.
Atharva Puranik, a London-based filmmaker who was flying on this aircraft to shift back to Mumbai, said, “The captain informed us that we will be provided accommodation in Cairo as the aircraft cannot fly ahead towards Mumbai, but even after hours, we weren’t allowed to exit. To add to the misery, the crew behaved so casually like it was just another day for them.”
Embassy intervention and visa complications
The Indian embassy in Egypt had to intervene as the issue intensified and convinced the local authorities to allow deplaning. According to sources, the issue stemmed from non-availability of valid visas with the passengers as they were not supposed to land in Egypt.
Moreover, as the diplomatic procedure took longer, it exhausted the flight duty hours of the crew on board. While IndiGo did not respond to any queries regarding the flight by the time the report was published, sources said that the airline was working on providing accommodation to the passengers and the flight would proceed to Mumbai the next day.
At the time of this report’s publication, the passengers were made to wait inside the terminal building waiting to be taken to their respective hotels while their clearances were being sorted according to their nationality.
Delhi–Manchester flight forced to return
Simultaneously, another IndiGo flight 6E-33, which took off from Delhi at 12.39 am to fly to Manchester, suffered a similar fate. After nearly eight hours in the air and reaching the edge of the Red Sea near Djibouti, the aircraft was denied entry into Eritrean airspace.
The aircraft took a U-turn and landed back in Delhi at 2.28 pm, completing a gruelling 14-hour round trip that ended exactly where it started.
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Airline cites evolving situation
IndiGo said that the aircraft was returned due to last-minute airspace restrictions amid the ongoing situation in West Asia.
“Due to the evolving situation in and around the Middle East, some of our flights may take longer routes or experience diversions. We are working with the relevant authorities to explore the possibilities of resuming the journey. As always, safety and security of our customers, crew and aircraft is of utmost importance to us,” it stated.
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