An Air India flight from Mumbai to Bhubaneswar with 155 passengers on board returned to the city after being airborne for about 35 minutes after the pilot reported smoke in the cockpit on Monday afternoon.
A spokesperson for the Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) told The Hindu that a full emergency was declared at 2.30 pm for Air India flight AI 669 — which went airborne at 2.14 pm from Mumbai for Bhuvaneshwar — returning due to suspected smoke in cockpit.
"The aircraft has landed safely. The emergency has been withdrawn," the spokesperson said.
Airline sources said that the aircraft had been taken to a remote bay where Air India's engineering staff would examine the aircraft. Efforts were on to accommodate the passengers on to another aircraft for their flight to Bhubaneswar.
An Air India spokesperson in a statement said, "AI 669 received pushback at 1.45pm. The flight got airborne around 2.15 pm and returned to Mumbai at 2.50 pm. All 155 passengers are safe. Initially, the local authority declared an emergency. But it was later withdrawn. The flight is on ground. Another aircraft is ready and all the passengers will depart by new aircraft at 4.15 pm.”
