Air India aircraft grounded after ground equipment strikes planes during storm at Delhi airport
Three Air India aircraft were taken out of service after ground support equipment was blown into parked planes during sudden strong winds and heavy rain at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. No injuries were reported.
- Three parked Air India Airbus A320 aircraft were damaged during severe weather at Delhi airport.
- No injuries occurred because no passengers or staff were near the affected aircraft.
- One aircraft reportedly sustained significant damage and may require extended repairs.
Three Air India aircraft parked at Terminal 2 of Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) were damaged on Sunday after ground support equipment was blown into them during sudden strong winds and heavy rain, airport officials and sources said.
The incident occurred at around 4.40 p.m. in parking bays near Terminal 2. No injuries were reported as there were no staff members or passengers present in the area, and no one was inside any of the aircraft at the time.
All three aircraft were Airbus A320 narrowbody jets. Following the collision, the aircraft were taken out of operation.
According to the airport operator, ground support equipment belonging to Air India Engineering and IndiGo moved from its position due to the sudden adverse weather conditions and struck the parked aircraft.
The operator also said that Air Traffic Control had not issued any warning to either the airport operator or airlines regarding a change in weather conditions before the incident.
One source described the weather as sudden and severe.
"There were sudden, powerful winds and heavy rains. There was no alert from our Air Traffic Control about such weather conditions. Three ground support equipment, two of which were a trestle and a step ladder belonging to Indigo, were near the aircraft and were hurled out of their position due to the weather. They ended up colliding with the parked planes. The equipment was massively damaged," the source said.
A source familiar with the matter said one of the Air India aircraft sustained substantial damage.
"The stairwell (used for boarding) had been hit badly. It will be grounded for some time to carry out an extensive check-up and repairs. The other two aircraft have suffered minor damage and will be kept off operations for a day or two only," the source said.
Another airline source said that aircraft belonging to other operators were also affected by the hostile weather conditions.
The same source said two of the three damaged Air India aircraft were expected to return to service relatively soon, while repairs to the third aircraft would take longer.
Reports circulated that as many as five aircraft had been damaged during the incident. However, airport sources said they were unable to confirm those claims.
IndiGo disputed suggestions that its equipment had struck the aircraft.
"Our step ladder was stopped by our staff before it could hit any aircraft," an airline source said.
Air India declined to comment on the incident.
