Glitch in screens displaying speed forces Air India Express plane to abort takeoff at Delhi

An Air India Express flight bound for Mumbai with nearly 160 passengers on board aborted take-off at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Wednesday night after the pilots flagged a technical fault inside the cockpit.

The incident, which occurred just before 9:30 pm, involved an Airbus A320 aircraft moments before it was scheduled to lift off. According to sources, the flight crew noticed a malfunction in the screens that display critical speed parameters, vital for a safe take-off and immediately decided to reject take-off.

“The decision was taken on the runway itself. The aircraft was accelerating when the glitch became evident and the pilots took the decision swiftly,” the source added.

In an official statement, an Air India Express spokesperson confirmed, “The crew of one of our flights from Delhi elected to reject take-off prioritising safety following a minor technical issue. Guests were deboarded and accommodated in an alternative aircraft which was arranged on priority and has since departed. We regret the inconvenience while reiterating that safety remains paramount in all our operations.”

Passengers were safely deboarded and later flown to Mumbai on a replacement aircraft, though many were visibly shaken by the sudden halt.

The incident comes just hours after another Air India Express flight, en route to Doha from Calicut International Airport on Wednesday morning, was forced to turn back mid-air due to a fault in the cabin air-conditioning system. That aircraft landed safely and officials termed it a precautionary return rather than an emergency landing.

Though no injuries were reported in either case, the back-to-back technical issues raise serious questions about maintenance standards and flight readiness at a time when Indian aviation is under intense scrutiny following a string of safety-related incidents.

Meanwhile, the aviation watchdog, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), is likely to examine whether proper pre-flight checks were conducted and whether systemic lapses may have contributed.