Indore-Pune Air India Express flight’s rough landing causes scare for 160 flyers

PUNE: Close to 160 flyers travelling to the city from Indore on an Air India Express flight encountered a scare when the aircraft had a rough touchdown here, following which it took off again and landed back safely after around 25 minutes.

The flight (IX-1245) had departed from Indore around 4pm, half-an-hour after its scheduled departure time. Baner resident Sandeep Kolatkar, who was on the flight with his family, said the landing was very rough and the flyers had no clue as to what had caused the same. "The flight approached the runway of Pune airport around 5pm. The landing was extremely rough and scary. Soon after, the aircraft lifted off again in full throttle," the business professional said. He said all passengers clapped hard once the aircraft landed safely the second time round.


TOI contacted the airline's spokesperson to ascertain the reasons behind the event. A reply from the airline was awaited at the time of going to print.

Kolatkar said neither the cabin crew nor the pilot provided any information to the passengers regarding the incident. "The cabin crew appeared confused throughout the hour-long flight and didn't provide any refreshments as well. Those who had booked their meals in advance were handed these after the flight landed," he said.

"After taking off again, the flight was in the air for 20-25 minutes while flyers waited patiently for any information, which didn't come. I think the aircraft made a go-around before landing again around 5.35pm. This time, the landing was smooth. Hard landings happen mainly during monsoons to ensure that planes don't skid off the runway. But this event felt like more than a regular hard landing," Kolatkar said.

In Dec 2025, a Delhi-Pune Air India Express flight had aborted landing due to adverse weather conditions. In June last year, another flight of the same airline from Bhubaneswar to Pune aborted its landing at the last moment due to the presence of a stray dog on the runway.