Close shave for 230 passengers as smoke detected in Chennai-bound flight from Bengaluru

Bengaluru/New Delhi: Over 230 people onboard an IndiGo Airbus A321neo were evacuated at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) using emergency slides after smoke was noticed in the cabin while taxiing to the runway to take off for Chennai Tuesday evening.

In a statement, the aviation ministry said: “IndiGo A321 (VT-IME), while operating flight 6E-6017 (Bengaluru-Chennai), was involved in emergency evacuation of passengers as smoke was reported in the cabin/cockpit. The crew carried out emergency evacuation of passengers using all escape slides. During evacuation process, two passengers received minor injuries. The aircraft has been grounded for inspection/rectification. DGCA is investigating the incident.”

Video clips of passengers rushing out of the aircraft and sliding onto the tarmac soon surfaced on social media. Following the evacuation, all passengers were safely shifted back to the terminal building. IndiGo later arranged an alternative aircraft for passengers to continue their journey to Chennai.

X user Deepan Qweeter Kannan (@kannandeepan), who was onboard the flight, described it as a scary experience: “There was smoke in my Indigo flight from Bangalore to Chennai. We had to evacuate immediately. I am still shaking. So scary! Can’t believe people went for their cabin luggage before evacuating. Really disgusting!” He praised the cabin crew for their swift response during the emergency situation.

In a statement, IndiGo said while flight 6E 6017 from Bengaluru to Chennai was taxing out to the runway for departure, smoke was noticed in the aircraft. In the interest of safety, immediate evacuation was carried out and authorities were informed.

This is the second emergency evacuation IndiGo has had to carry out so far this month. On May 5, passengers onboard a Hyderabad-Chandigarh flight was evacuated at the destination using slides after a personal electronic device caught fire.