Akasa Air, SpiceJet planes collide on taxiway at Delhi airport; both grounded

The wings of an Akasa Air and a SpiceJet aircraft came in contact on the taxiway at Delhi airport on Thursday afternoon, officials said, adding that both planes have been grounded after sustaining damage. The incident occurred around 2.15 pm at Terminal 1 when an Akasa Air aircraft was taxiing for take-off and a SpiceJet aircraft was taxiing towards the parking stand.

The Akasa Air plane, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was scheduled to operate flight QP-1406 from Delhi to Hyderabad, while the SpiceJet aircraft, a Boeing 737-700, had arrived from Leh. In a statement, Akasa Air said its aircraft had to return to the bay. “Preliminary information indicates that the aircraft was stationary when another airline’s aircraft made contact with it,” the airline said.

All passengers and crew were safely disembarked, it added, noting that the relevant authorities have been informed and the matter is under investigation.

SpiceJet said its aircraft was involved in a ground occurrence while taxiing, resulting in damage to its right winglet and the left-hand horizontal stabiliser of the other aircraft. The SpiceJet aircraft has also been grounded in Delhi, the airline said.

Officials confirmed that the wings of the two aircraft had come in contact on the taxiway.
(With PTI inputs)