Smoke detected on IndiGo flight at Bengaluru airport, passengers evacuated
The emergency evacuation was ordered after smoke was detected inside the passenger jet while it was taxiing out to the runway for departure, IndiGo said.
All passengers and crew members of an IndiGo flight were evacuated while it was preparing to take off for Chennai from the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru on Tuesday after smoke was detected inside the aircraft, the airline said.
No one was injured, it added. The emergency evacuation was ordered as a safety measure after smoke was detected inside the passenger jet while it was taxiing out to the runway for departure, according to IndiGo.
"All customers and crew are safe and have been moved to the terminal, where they are being attended to by our teams to ensure their well-being," the airline's spokesperson said in a statement.
The airline further said that emergency slides were deployed to expedite the evacuation process. Fire tenders were also rushed to the site.
"An alternate aircraft has been arranged to operate the flight which will depart shortly and refreshments are being served to the customers to ease their wait time," the IndiGo spokesperson stated.
Confirming the incident, sources within the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said that the Bengaluru-Chennai IndiGo flight, 6E-6017, experienced smoke in the cabin during push back.
This is at least the second such incident involving an IndiGo flight in recent weeks. Earlier this month, a Hyderabad-Chandigarh flight operated by the low-cost airline was evacuated after smoke was detected inside its cabin, following its arrival at the Chandigarh airport.
That emergency evacuation was ordered after the flight's crew was alerted by a passenger about a fire in his power bank. Emergency slides were also deployed to evacuate the passengers. At least one passenger was injured during the evacuation process at the Chandigarh airport.