B’luru-Mangaluru Jet Airways flight reports snag just before take-off, passengers safe

A Jet Airways aircraft that was set to take off from Bengaluru to Mangaluru on Thursday morning reported fumes in the cabin just minutes before its take-off. However, the aircraft was immediately evacuated before anything untoward could happen. Karnataka Minister for Urban Development and Housing UT Khader was among the 71 passengers. Khader could not be reached for comment.

The flight was set to leave Bengaluru at 7.00 am and reach Mangaluru at 8.15 am. The ATR aircraft was sent for repair work while passengers were flown in a different aircraft after a delay of an hour.

According to sources, there was problem with the AC deck and the fumes were caused by a short circuit. Sources in the airline claimed that there was no smoke in the cabin but fumes were noticed when the flight was set for take-off but had not started.

Jet Airways issued a statement saying it regretted the inconvenience caused to the passengers.

“Jet Airways flight 9W 713 from Mangalore to Bangalore of 27th December was delayed due to a technical snag while parked at bay, prior to departure. An alternate aircraft was immediately arranged and the flight departed with 71 guests. The airline regrets the inconvenience caused to its guests,” the airline’s statement said.

This comes after a Hyderabad to Indore Jet Airways flight with 96 passengers and 7 crew members on board had to make an emergency landing at the destination airport in September due to problems in the engine. Thankfully, no passengers or crew were hurt in the incident.

The full service airline is currently reeling under debt and had recently made some significant changes in its offerings, including withdrawal of the free meal service for its economy class travellers flying in the domestic circuit. The company has been reporting losses over the past three quarters including Rs 1,261 crore in the latest quarter ending September.