Three Air India planes were taken out of operation on Sunday evening after sustaining damage at Delhi airport. The aircraft had been parked at Terminal 2 when ground support equipment hit them due to inclement weather conditions.
Heavy rain and gusty winds swept through the national capital on Sunday afternoon — with widespread disruptions reported across the region. The private operator told PTI that the Air Traffic Control had issued no warning to the airport operator or airlines about any change in weather.
Air India has not commented on the incident.
Multiple planes damaged
According to a PTI report, ground equipment belonging to Air India Engineering and IndiGo had moved from its position amid strong wind and rain on Sunday. Multiple planes sustained damage during the collision — with the airport operator adding that at least Air India narrowbody aircraft had been taken out of operation.
Details remain scarce but an airline source told PTI that aircraft of other operators were also impacted due to the hostile weather conditions. The official said two of the impacted Air India planes will be back in the operations soon while the third will take a little longer to be fixed.
Visuals shared online showed a passenger stepladder gliding through the rain-slicked tarmac and ramming into one of the Air India planes. Ground staffers were seen rushing to intercept amid the heavy rain as the metal structure continued to move ahead.
Heavy rain, strong winds in Delhi
Delhi has faced heavy rainfall and dust storms over the past few days — with multiple flight diversions and delays due to the extreme weather and poor visibility. The India Meteorological Department had sounded a ‘red alert’ for the national capital last week and flagged the possibility of hail at isolated places.
IndiGo flight suffers bird hit
The development comes days after an IndiGo 6E 6283 flight operating from Bengaluru to Mumbai was delayed after suffering a bird hit. Sources told ANI that the pilot had immediately returned the aircraft to the bay for precautionary checks after the accidental hit on Friday. Engineers conducted the inspection and cleared the aircraft for the operations. The flight resumed its journey after a delay of more than an hour, and no injuries were reported.
