Patna: Passengers on an IndiGo flight from Delhi to Patna experienced a moment of alarm on Tuesday night when their plane took off again shortly after landing, completing several loops before finally touching down safely.
Flight 6E2482, carrying 173 passengers, arrived at Patna’s Jay Prakash Narayan Airport around 9pm. According to airport sources, although the aircraft’s wheels had initially touched down, the plane overshot its intended touchdown point. With Patna’s notoriously short runway — just over 2,070 metres in length — the pilot reportedly decided to abort the landing and execute a go-around as a precautionary measure.
Several passengers said they were left anxious for nearly five minutes during the mid-air manoeuvre. A crew member informed those onboard that the plane had been pulled back into the air due to “technical reasons” and urged calm, assuring passengers of a safe landing shortly.
The aircraft landed without incident after completing three to four loops.
The incident has once again highlighted the limitations of Patna airport’s infrastructure. The current runway length of 2,072.64 metres falls short of modern safety norms, particularly for large aircraft. Authorities are working to extend it by 1,584.96 metres, bringing the total length to 3,657.6 metres.
The upgrade has gained urgency following a recent advisory by the central government in the wake of the Ahmedabad runway overrun incident. The directive calls for enhanced runway safety and upgrades at airports across the country.
