An IndiGo plane and a SpiceJet aircraft had a near miss while taxiing at the Indira Gandhi International airport here on Tuesday morning.
“While taxiing, the SpiceJet crew observed another aircraft on the same taxiway in the opposite direction,” a SpiceJet spokesperson said. The crew immediately stopped the aircraft and intimated the air traffic controller. “SpiceJet SG 123 operating Delhi-Hyderabad was following ATC instructions a all times at the Delhi airport,” the spokesperson said.
“At no stage the safety of passengers, crew and aircraft was compromised. All concerned authorities were informed,” SpiceJet said.
IndiGo also said in a statement that its 6E-769 flight (Lucknow-Delhi) observed the SpiceJet aircraft in front of it while taxiing and was following ATC instructions all the time.
“Following the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), the Captain -in-Command took the decision of switching off the engine and reported the incident to ATC. There has been no unfortunate incident or a close shave as reported by a section of media,” an IndiGo spokesperson said, adding all 176 passengers and the crew were safe.
“As an airline, we rely upon the ATC’s traffic advisory and ensure to comply with their instructions. At IndiGo, safety of the passengers, crew and the aircraft are of top priority — and at no time it can be compromised,” the airline said.
IndiGo said it voluntarily informed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which is probing the matter along with IndiGo’s safety department.
