Air India Flight 504 from Kochi to Delhi narrowly escaped disaster after skidding off the runway during an attempted takeoff. The incident, first reported by passenger Hibi Eden MP on social media, occurred shortly after boarding began at 10:15 PM on Sunday. Eden, along with his family and fellow MPs Anto Antony and JB Mather, were among those on board. Passengers experienced panic as the plane came to an abrupt halt, with some now at risk of missing connecting flights to the Gulf. Authorities report all passengers are safe, citing a possible engine failure as the cause. The aircraft has been diverted from the runway for further inspection.
‘Felt Like Flight Skid On Runway’- Hibi Eden MP
Something unusual with this flight
"AI 504....it just felt like the flight skid on the runway....and hasn't taken off yet...." - Hibi Eden MP wrote on Facebook. Rajya Sabha MP Jebi Mather, who was also on board, said the pilot later announced that the aircraft could not be used for travel.
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"Now pilot announced...this aircraft cannot be used for travel. So, will be shifting passengers to another aircraft and approx by 1 am," Mather was quoted by news agency PTI
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In a statement, the CIAL said, “A technical issue caused an Air India flight bound for Delhi to abort the takeoff. Air India is rectifying it and has informed Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) that they are changing the aircraft. The expected new time of departure is 0100 hrs.”
The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) said the revised time of departure was 1:00 am on Monday.
In another incident, Air India on Sunday said it cancelled its Milan-Delhi flight of August 16 after detecting a maintenance issue at the last minute. In a statement, it said that alternative arrangements are being made to fly the passengers to their destination as soon as possible- Air India said in a statement.
"Flight AI138 operating from Milan to Delhi on August 16 was cancelled due to a maintenance task identified during pushback," the statement said.
"Our ground team in Milan extended immediate assistance to all the affected passengers, providing hotel accommodation and offering full refunds on cancellation or complimentary rescheduling as opted by the passengers," it said.