SRINAGAR: Three Air India narrow-body aircraft sustained damage at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on Sunday evening after ground support equipment was blown into the parked planes during a sudden rainstorm, according to a report by The Times of India.
The incident occurred at Terminal 2 (T2) when strong winds swept through the airport at around 4:40 pm. Airport sources told The Hindu that a step ladder and a trestle belonging to IndiGo Engineering and Aircraft India Engineering were displaced from their designated positions and struck the three aircraft.
“There was no weather warning issued for the storm. At around 4:40 pm on Sunday, strong winds caused a step ladder and a trestle at the T2 parking stands to move from their positions and hit three Air India aircraft,” airport sources were quoted as saying by The Hindu.
According to the report, all three aircraft have been withdrawn from service for inspections and repairs. One aircraft is expected to remain grounded for several days due to the extent of the damage, while the other two may return to operations later this week.
IndiGo sources told The Times of India that the trestle had been secured, but the force of the winds caused it to come loose.
The incident has prompted questions among airline and airport officials over the absence of advance weather alerts. As noted by The Indian Express and The Times of India, timely weather warnings enable airlines, ground handlers and airport authorities to secure equipment on the tarmac, reducing the risk of damage during adverse weather conditions.
The development has also renewed concerns over a series of unusual incidents involving Air India aircraft. According to The Times of India, a newly inducted Air India Airbus A350, the airline’s flagship aircraft, ingested an unsecured baggage container while taxiing at IGI Airport in January after arriving from New York amid dense fog.
Officials are reportedly assessing both the circumstances surrounding Sunday’s storm and the apparent lack of prior weather warnings that could have helped prevent the incident.
