CHENNAI: A major mishap was averted at Chennai Airport on Thursday after a British Airways flight bound for London developed a technical snag moments before takeoff.

The British Airways flight, carrying 252 passengers and 12 crew members, was scheduled to depart from Chennai to London at around 5.35 am. The same flight had arrived in Chennai from London earlier at 3.30 am as part of its regular daily service.

Following boarding, the aircraft, with a total of 264 people onboard, began taxiing and accelerating on the runway for takeoff. However, at that moment, the pilot detected a sudden technical fault in the aircraft engine. Realising that continuing the takeoff could pose a danger, the pilot immediately aborted the takeoff and brought the aircraft to an emergency halt on the runway.

The Chennai Air Traffic Control and airport authorities were alerted immediately. Soon, a towing vehicle was deployed to move the aircraft back to the parking bay. After which, authorities announced that the flight would be delayed.

The airline engineers carried out repair work and rectified the fault successfully after nearly two hours of maintenance and technical inspections. The British Airways flight departed from Chennai to London at around 7.30 am, nearly two hours behind schedule.