A routine morning journey from Pune to Hyderabad on IndiGo Flight 6E-6473 turned into an extended delay for over 150 passengers as the aircraft remained stuck on the runway for almost six hours on Tuesday before finally departing at approximately 4:15 PM.
Originally scheduled to take off at 8:40 AM, with boarding completed by 8:20 AM, passengers were soon informed about initial delays due to “defence-related activity.” This was followed by further announcements warning of “increased bird activity” near the runway, prompting additional hold-ups.
What seemed like a brief pause quickly stretched into a lengthy wait inside the plane. By mid-morning, passengers were told the aircraft required refueling, causing confusion since preparations for departure had already been made earlier. Later, the airline cited a technical problem as another cause for the prolonged delay.
Passenger Ramesh Kulkarni expressed frustration, saying, “We were confined inside for hours without clear updates. First it was defence exercises, then birds, then fuel, and finally a technical issue. It was very confusing.”
By 1:20 PM, with tensions rising, many passengers requested to leave the plane. The airline permitted those who wished to deboard to do so. Some chose to stay on board after being given a new expected departure time of 2:00 PM. However, when the departure was postponed again to 4:00 PM, the remaining passengers also opted to disembark.
Ananya Deshmukh, who eventually booked an evening flight instead, said, “I waited for hours thinking the flight would take off soon.” Another traveler, Rohit Salunkhe, canceled his plans entirely and decided to fly the next day.
IndiGo released an apology statement, saying, “Flight 6E-6473 from Pune to Hyderabad on May 20 was delayed due to a technical fault. An alternate aircraft was arranged, and passengers were provided refreshments. We regret the inconvenience caused.”
Interestingly, another IndiGo flight from Pune to Bangkok faced a similar delay of around 90 minutes on the same day, attributed to defence activities and bird movement near the runway.
