Tech snag: AirAsia India flight returns to Bengaluru airport 10 minutes after take-off

BENGALURU: An AIX Connect flight, formally AirAsia India, with 172 passengers onboard that took off to Lucknow on Saturday, returned to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), 10 minutes on after the pilots suspected a technical snag. The passengers and the crew landed safely and after eight hours, another aircraft took them to the destination.
Sources said flight I5 2472 to Lucknow departed from Bengaluru at 6.50am on Saturday. A captain suspected an engine problem and the pilots decided to return to KIA. The aircraft was subjected to inspections by aircraft maintenance engineers who declared it unfit to fly immediately. "AIX Connect from Bengaluru to Lucknow on Saturday morning encountered a minor technical issue and decided to return to Bengaluru as a precaution. Necessary steps are being taken to minimise the impact to other scheduled operations," a spokesperson said, adding that it was not an emergency landing.
Sources said passengers were accommodated in another aircraft of the carrier taking off at 2.18pm. It landed in Lucknow at 4.50pm.