Tractor breakdown near Patna airport runway delays IndiGo flight landing
What's the story
An IndiGo flight flying to Patna from Kolkata was delayed by 40 minutes on Friday morning after a tractor broke down near the runway of Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said the tractor, which was mowing grass, became stuck inside the safety margin of wing clearance.
This caused a delay of around 15-20 minutes in flight operations.
Removal challenges
Tractor removal efforts extend flight delay
According to reports, the tractor got stuck in a wet, muddy patch close to the runway, which required its removal.
Attempts to tow the tractor with a normal vehicle failed, following which a heavy excavator was pressed into service. This further delayed the flight operations.
Dr. Satyajit Sinha, a passenger of the delayed IndiGo flight 6E 7085, said their aircraft landed at around 7:50am—40 minutes late.
Delay details
Pilot's announcement and flight delay confirmation
During the delay, the pilot made four in-flight announcements informing passengers about the tractor breakdown along the runway.
Flight tracking website, Flightstats.com, later confirmed IndiGo flight 6E 7085 was indeed delayed by 43 minutes.
Despite this incident, officials reported other flights at Patna airport weren't affected. The airport typically handles around 80 aircraft movements daily.