Air India flight aborts takeoff in Kochi due to technical snag; MPs on board share ordeal

KOCHI: Passengers of Air India flight AI 504, scheduled to fly from Kochi to Delhi in the early hours of Monday, faced an unexpected delay after the aircraft aborted the takeoff due to a technical issue and returned to the bay, officials said.

According to Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), the revised time of departure was 1:00 am on Monday.

“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”, a CIAL PRO said in a statement.

The incident came to light after Congress MP Hibi Eden, who was on board the flight, posted on social media that the aircraft seemed to have skidded 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….” he wrote in a Facebook post.

Rajya Sabha MP Jebi Mather, also on board, said the pilot later announced that the aircraft could not be used for travel.

“Now pilot announced…this aircraft cannot be used for travel. So, will be shifting passengers to another aircraft and approx by 1 am,” Mather said.

More details are awaited.(Agencies)