Guwahati: An Air India aircraft arriving from Hong Kong caught fire at the tail shortly after landing at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) on Tuesday.
All passengers and crew disembarked safely, airline officials confirmed.
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Flight AI 315, which landed in Delhi from Hong Kong, experienced an auxiliary power unit (APU) fire moments after parking at the gate.
According to an Air India spokesperson, the APU automatically shut down as per safety protocols after the fire was detected. The incident occurred while passengers were in the process of disembarking.
“There was some damage to the aircraft; however, passengers and crew members disembarked normally and are safe. The aircraft has been grounded for further investigation and the regulator has been duly notified,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
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The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) confirmed the fire was quickly extinguished and that an investigation is underway to determine the cause.
The Tuesday incident came a day after Air India faced two other technical events involving separate aircraft. One flight bound for Kolkata was forced to abort takeoff at Delhi airport due to a technical snag.
In another case, flight AI2744 from Kochi to Mumbai veered off the runway while landing during heavy rainfall at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. Although the aircraft safely taxied to the gate and all passengers disembarked safely, the plane was grounded for inspection.
The incident temporarily disrupted operations at one of Mumbai airport’s runways.
In a separate incident on Tuesday, an IndiGo flight from Goa to Indore made an emergency landing due to a technical issue with its landing gear. Flight 6E 813, carrying 140 passengers, landed safely in Indore and was taken out of service for mandatory checks.