GURUGRAM- IndiGo (6E) flight 6E-6544 from Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, Varanasi (VNS), to Mumbai (BOM) was delayed by nearly three and a half hours on Thursday after the scheduled pilot reported sick.
IndiGo arranged a replacement pilot from Ahmedabad after the assigned crew member became unavailable due to health reasons. The flight eventually departed for Mumbai after the alternate pilot arrived and the required arrangements were completed.
IndiGo Flight Delayed Due to Pilot Unavailability
IndiGo flight 6E-6544 was scheduled to operate from Varanasi to Mumbai on Thursday. The flight faced a delay of about three and a half hours after the pilot assigned to operate the service suddenly informed the airline that he was unwell and could not fly.
The sudden crew unavailability required IndiGo to make alternative arrangements before the aircraft could depart. The airline arranged another pilot to operate the flight and began the process of bringing the replacement crew member to Varanasi.
According to an airline source, the scheduled pilot suddenly called in sick, which led the airline to arrange another pilot who later operated the flight.
A second airline source said the replacement pilot was brought from Ahmedabad because Varanasi is not an IndiGo base station.
The absence of a standby pilot at the airport meant additional time was required to position the alternate crew member. This arrangement contributed to the flight’s departure delay.
The replacement pilot eventually arrived in Varanasi and took over the flight after the necessary operational arrangements were completed.
Airport Director Gives Account of Delay
Varanasi airport director Puneet Gupta was quoted by PTI as saying that the flight was delayed by 3.5 hours due to technical reasons and later departed for Mumbai.
Gupta also denied reports that passengers had created a disturbance at the airport because of the delay.
The airport director’s statement came alongside airline-source information that linked the disruption to the scheduled pilot’s sudden illness and the time needed to arrange a replacement pilot.
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