Thai Lion Air flight returns to Kolkata Airport parking bay after developing 'technical snag'

Kolkata: A Thai Lion Air flight with 130 passengers and seven crew on board returned to the parking bay at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) airport shortly after push back on Saturday due to a "technical snag", officials said.

Later, the flight was cancelled for the day.

According to Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials at the airport the aircraft landed at Kolkata around 1.35 am on Saturday and was supposed to take off at 2.35 am from Kolkata (CCU) for travelling to the Bangkok Don Mueang International Airport (DMK).


The Boeing 737-800 new generation aircraft developed a flap-related problem and therefore the aircraft returned to the parking bay after push back following which the flight had to be cancelled.

Flaps in an aircraft are very important during both take-off and landing, an official at the airport said.

Sources at the airport said that passengers were unhappy at this and many of them expressed their unhappiness by shouting at the airline staff.

According to an airline official, the flight was cancelled for the day since "safety of passengers is paramount".

All the passengers were provided hotel accommodation, airline sources said. As of today, the flight remains cancelled.

"Thai Lion landed at Kolkata Airport at 1.23 am, with 151 passengers on board from Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand. The aircraft took push back from parking bay 60R at 2.35 am. After taking push back it reported a technical problem and requested return to bay. The flight once again parked at parking stand 34 at 2.43 am. All 130 passengers were sent to hotel," an Airports Authority of India spokesperson said.