Technical snag halts SriLankan Airlines flight in Chennai; passengers face 12-hour delay
Passengers stranded for over 12 hours in Chennai airport as replacement aircraft brought from Colombo
SriLankan Airlines flight
CHENNAI: A Colombo-bound SriLankan Airlines flight with 262 people on board, including 252 passengers, was forced to abort take-off at the Chennai international airport on Tuesday morning after the pilot detected a technical snag during its runway roll.
The alert action by the pilot averted what could have been a serious mid-air incident, and all those on board were reported to be safe.
The aircraft, which was scheduled to depart at 9.45 am, was accelerating on the runway when the pilot noticed an technical snag.
Realising the risk of continuing take-off, he immediately applied brakes and brought the aircraft to a halt on the runway. Airport authorities were alerted, and a tug was deployed to tow the aircraft back to its bay.
Initially, the airline informed passengers that a minor technical issue was being attended to and that the flight would depart within two hours.
All passengers were deboarded and accommodated in the airport lounges while engineers began repair work.
However, even by 1 pm, the aircraft was not ready, leading to growing frustration among passengers. Heated arguments broke out between travellers, airline staff, and airport officials as the delay stretched through the afternoon.
Around 2 pm, passengers were provided with food and water, and officials announced that the flight would likely depart by 4 pm. But when no further updates came by evening, several passengers staged a sit-in protest inside the terminal, demanding clarity and compensation. Security personnel intervened to pacify the crowd.
As the damaged aircraft could not be repaired immediately, SriLankan Airlines arranged for an alternative aircraft from Colombo. The replacement flight arrived in Chennai around 7.30 pm, following which passengers underwent fresh security checks and were issued new boarding passes.
The replacement aircraft finally took off for Colombo at 9. 30 pm, nearly 12 hours after the scheduled departure and landed safely in Sri Lanka at 10.28 p.m.