Emergency landing at Bengaluru airport: Air India Express flight catches fire, lands at airport with 179 onboard

A Kochi-bound Air India Express flight from Bengaluru made an emergency landing at Bengaluru on May 18 after one of its engines caught fire, news agency PTI reported.

The Air India Express issued a statement that read, “All the passengers and crew were evacuated, and no one was injured." 

An Air India Express spokesperson informed PTI, “The crew accomplished an evacuation with no injuries to any guests. We regret the inconvenience this has caused and are working to provide alternative arrangements for our guests to reach their destination as soon as possible."

A spokesperson of the Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) in a statement said, "On May 18, 2024, IX 1132 from Bengaluru to Kochi made an emergency landing at BLR Airport at 2312 hrs, due to a reported fire in one of the engines," reported PTI.

The fire was noticed minutes after the Kochi-bound Air India Express flight took off from Bengaluru, according to media sources. This reportedly prompted an emergency landing.

The Air Traffic Controller was alerted as soon as the fire was noticed. Subsequently, a full-scale emergency was declared.

The emergency fire control teams were stationed at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) airport that put off the fire soon after the emergency landing took place. The Karnataka State Government created the company Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) in January 2001 as a special purpose entity that manages KIA.

The BIAL spokesperson further informed PTI that a full-scale emergency was declared and all 179 passengers and six crew members onboard were successfully evacuated from the aircraft.

The Air India Express spokesperson said that due to suspected flames from the right engine after take-off, the Bengaluru- Kochi flight 'elected' to return and carried out a precautionary landing at Bengaluru . Moreover, the ground services also reported flames which further progressed in evacuating the flight.

The Air India Express spokesperson assured that a thorough investigation with the regulator would be conducted to establish the cause.

(With PTI inputs)