Drone Spotted: New Delhi Airport Ops Resume After Being Disbanded

All three runways were shutdown at the Delhi airport. Sources say many flights were diverted.

Image used representational purpose. 

(Photo: Wkimedia Commons)

Flight operations at the New Delhi airport resumed after being temporarily suspended when a pilot reportedly spotted a drone in the vicinity.

Sanjay Bhatia, Deputy Commissioner of Police at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, said the pilot who was flying from Goa to Delhi, reportedly saw the object near Dwarka area adjoining the airport around 7.10 pm.

At about 7.55 pm, operations at the three runways resumed normally after clearance from Delhi Police.

Sanjay Bhatia

The officer said they were verifying the object.

Meanwhile, airport police recorded the statements of two pilots who spotted the drone and have registered a case against an unknown person under Section 188.

As per airport sources, as many as 15 flights were diverted and over 20 were delayed within the span of 28 minutes of operational shutdown.

Meanwhile, AirAsia, in a statement, said:

AirAsia India would like to confirm that the pilots of flight i5 799 from Goa to New Delhi spotted an unidentified object flying close to the aircraft while landing on runway 11 at IGI Airport at New Delhi...Our pilots followed normal procedure and carried out an uneventful landing. Upon landing, the pilot reported the incident to Air Traffic Controller as per their reporting procedure that they have been trained for.

“The pilot also informed the airline’s Director Flight Operations and Head of Corporate and Flight Safety upon landing. The airline has filed a report with the DGCA,” it added.

(With inputs from IANS.)

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