Smoke detected in Chennai-bound IndiGo flight shortly before departure; passengers evacuated safely

A Chennai-bound IndiGo flight was halted after smoke was detected while taxiing at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

According to the airline, IndiGo flight 6E 6017 from Bengaluru to Chennai was taxiing out to the runway for departure when smoke was noticed in the aircraft.

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Passengers were onboard the aircraft at the time of the incident, prompting the pilot to immediately halt take-off.

All the passengers were evacuated safely as airport fire brigade teams and technical officials rushed to inspect the aircraft following the incident.

In a statement, an IndiGo spokesperson said all passengers and crew members were safely evacuated and moved back to the terminal.

“On May 26, while IndiGo flight 6E 6017 from Bengaluru to Chennai was taxiing out to the runway for departure, smoke was noticed in the aircraft. In the interest of safety, an immediate evacuation was carried out and all the relevant authorities were informed,” the airline said.

It further added that all passengers were safe and were being assisted by airport and airline staff. IndiGo also arranged an alternate aircraft to operate the flight.

“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. 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 spokesperson said.

The airline reiterated that passenger and crew safety remains its top priority.

“At IndiGo, the safety of our customers and crew remains our top priority,” the spokesperson added.