Delhi-Bound Indigo Flight's Take-Off Aborted, Nitin Gadkari Was On Board

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari was among the passengers on an IndiGo flight that did not take-off this morning because of a "serious error" detected by the pilot.

The IndiGo flight 6E 636 from Nagpur to Delhi was moments from take-off when the pilot was alerted about an error. The pilot aborted take-off and the plane returned from the runway to the taxiway. Nitin Gadkari, the Road Transport Minister, and 158 other passengers were de-boarded.

A second attempt at take-off by the pilot also failed, according to the Press Trust of India.

The flight was to take off at 7.50 am and land in Delhi at 9.35 am.

According to an IndiGo statement, the pilot "observed a momentary caution message while starting the engine and the aircraft returned to the bay for checks".

The plane has been grounded and is under maintenance.

A senior official at the Nagpur Airport, Vijay Mulekar, was quoted as telling the Press Trust of India that the flight to Delhi did not take off due to a "technical fault".

"Subsequently, around 10.30 am, the flight made a second attempt to take off but was pushed back again due to the technical snag," Mr Mulekar said.

Mr Gadkari is a BJP Lok Sabha MP from Nagpur.

(With inputs from PTI)