An early morning SpiceJet flight headed to Nasik on Thursday returned to Delhi an hour after takeoff due to a snag in the aircraft’s autopilot, aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said.
The Boeing 737 aircraft operating on the Delhi-Nasik sector (SG-8363) left Delhi 10 minutes after its scheduled departure of 6.35am on Thursday. The plane returned to Delhi airport at 7.45am.
The passengers, who would have reached Nasik at 8.30am, finally reached their destination four hours later, at about 12.30pm.
A DGCA official said, “SpiceJet B737 aircraft VT-SLP operating flight SG-8363 (Delhi -Nasik) was involved in air turn back due to autopilot snag”.
A SpiceJet spokesperson said the aircraft returned to Delhi after the flight crew experienced a malfunction with the autopilot system. “The aircraft made a normal landing at Delhi and passengers were disembarked normally,” the spokesperson added.
Multiple passengers said there was no announcement that the pilot had turned back the plane and they were returning to Delhi.
A passenger said they were only told that they had returned due to a technical issue and were not allowed to get off the aircraft even after it returned to Delhi. “At about 8.30am, the airline crew informed us that the aircraft had to be changed.”
He said they issued fresh boarding passes and made to go through the pre-boarding process again, complaining that their requests for refreshments were ignored.
Another passenger, a Nasik resident, said the airline has promised to give them a voucher for ₹1,500 for their next journey. “However, I am yet to receive the voucher,” the passenger said.
