Mumbai: A Delhi-bound IndiGo flight operating from Mumbai had to turn back to Mumbai shortly after the take-off due to a bird-hit on Sunday morning. Officials said that the flight departed Mumbai around 8 am and was scheduled to land in Delhi at 10.15 am. But the flight was returned to Mumbai following the bird-hit.
According to an airline official, the Airbus A-320 with flight number 6E 5047 on the Mumbai-Delhi route had taken off on schedule at around 8.05 am on Sunday from Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), but returned minutes later and was grounded after it hit a bird. The airline official said that all passengers aboard were safe, but did not reveal how many passengers were on board.
A statement issued by the airline read, “IndiGo flight 6E 5047 operating from Mumbai to Delhi had to turn back to Mumbai due to a bird-hit. An alternate aircraft was arranged to operate the flight from Mumbai to Delhi. We regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers."
A similar incident had occurred on August 8, when AirAsia's Mumbai-bound flight was forced to abort operations after it suffered a bird-hit during the take-off at the Ranchi airport. The airline had to arrange for an alternate aircraft to accommodate the passengers.
