An IndiGo flight flying from Delhi’s IGI Airport to Manchester had to return midway. This flight turned back near the Ethiopia-Eritrea border after being in the air for about 7 hours. After a long journey of 14 hours, the plane returned and landed at Delhi Airport at 2:30 pm. This decision was taken due to the ongoing tension in West Asia and new rules related to airspace.
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Why did the flight have to come back to Delhi midway?
Due to increasing tension in West Asia, many types of restrictions have been imposed on airspace. Safety agency EASA has recently banned flying over 11 countries including Saudi Arabia. To avoid this stoppage, IndiGo flight 6E 033 was taking a longer route to Africa. According to the report, when the flight reached Eritrea, there was suddenly some problem in clearance from the authorities there. During this, keeping the safety of passengers and crew on top, the pilot decided to divert the flight back to Delhi.
Passengers’ 14-hour journey and further plans
This flight took off from Delhi at 12:30 am on 9 March 2026. It took a total of 14 hours to go 7 hours forward and 7 hours to come back and the passengers returned to the same place from where they had started. IndiGo spokesperson said that the airline is exploring options to restart this journey in collaboration with the authorities. In such cases, under normal aviation rules, passengers are given food, hotel facilities and booking on the next flight or a full refund.
Cancellation of flights and impact on stock market
The worsening situation in West Asia is having a heavy impact on Indian flights. On Sunday, March 8, about 279 international flights of Indian Airlines had to be cancelled. Due to this incident and the tension in the Middle East, IndiGo’s shares fell by about 4 percent in the stock market on Monday. Let us tell you that this was the airline’s first flight to Manchester after 26th February which was forced to return.