2 GoAir planes hit by glitches, forced to return midway

A Pratt & Whitney engine-powered A320neo plane of budget carrier GoAir was on Saturday forced to return to Delhi after departing for Male due to a “component” issue while another Delhi-bound flight came back to Goa airport due to “faulty” alarm in the aircraft’s cargo hold area, the airline said.

The airline, however, did not specify the number of passenger son board the two glitch hit aircraft.

“GoAir flight G8 174 from Delhi to Male suffered a technical glitch. As per the standard operating procedure, the captain decided to return to Delhi. Post landing, the glitch was identified and rectified by changing a component. The aircraft is currently operational,” GoAir said in a statement on Sunday.

Significantly, the Wadia group-promoted no-frills airline had commenced flight services to Male from New Delhi and Mumbai only last week as part of its international operations.

The city-based airline made its foray into the international market on October 11 with the launch of its maiden flight to Phuket in Thailand.

As of now, its operating international services to these two destinations from New Delhi and Mumbai.

GoAir in a separate statement said that the Goa-Delhi service was forced to return to the originating airport as the pilot received a “faulty indication” on cargo hold.

GoAir sincerely regrets the inconvenience caused to its passengers, it added.