Commuters were left alarmed on Tuesday after a bus burst into flames on the Delhi Airport tarmac. Visuals shared online showed flames billowing out of the parked vehicle — mere metres away from the nose of an Air India plane. Airport staffers had moved swiftly to douse the fire and later reported that there were no casualties.
Footage of the incident has now gone viral, showing smoke and flames billowing out of the windows. The incident was reported around 1:00 pm to the IGI Airport Police Station — following which fire tenders, local police, and CISF personnel rushed to the site. Later videos shared by the Delhi International Airport also showed officials working to douse the fire with water. Airport emergency teams had responded swiftly to ensure that the blaze did not spread.
“In a stray incident, a bus operated by one of the Ground handlers caught fire around noon today. Our expert ARFF team on ground immediately swung into action and extinguished the fire within a couple of minutes. The bus was stationary and fully vacant at the time of the incident. There were no injuries/casualties. All operations continue to be normal,” Delhi Airport authorities confirmed via X.
The bus was operated by AI SATS — a ground-handling service provider for Air India and parked in an empty condition when it abruptly caught fire.
A statement from Deputy Police Commissioner Vichitra Veer also confirmed that the said the bus was not carrying any passengers or luggage when the fire broke out. The DCP said only the driver was present at the time and that there had been no injuries or casualties reported.
The vehicle, used for ferrying passengers on the airport premises, sustained damage in the incident, according to the police. The area was briefly cordoned off as a precautionary measure, they said, adding that a detailed examination of the bus is being carried out to ascertain the cause of the fire. Further investigation is underway.