New Delhi: An IndiGo Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft with over 250 passengers on board returned to London’s Heathrow Airport early Wednesday due to a technical snag shortly after taking off for Delhi.
An emergency was declared, following which the aircraft was given priority to land at London Heathrow Airport. All passengers disembarked safely.
Reports from London said the pilots detected smoke on board the Boeing Dreamliner plane after take-off and decided to return to Heathrow. The crew informed Air Traffic Control about an emergency.
The IndiGo flight 6E4 from London to Delhi returned after an hour or so of taking off from Heathrow, data on the flight tracking website Flightradar24.com showed.
“A technical issue was detected shortly after take-off on IndiGo flight 6E 04 operating from London to New Delhi 22 September 2026. Following standard operating procedures, the pilots decided to turn back and landed the aircraft safely at London Heathrow Airport”, an IndiGo statement said.
The aircraft is currently undergoing maintenance checks and will resume operations after securing all necessary clearances, the airline further stated.
IndiGo, however, did not divulge any details about the exact nature of the technical problem in the Boeing aircraft which forced the pilots to turn back.
The flight had taken off at around 12.40 a.m. (IST) Wednesday and returned to London’s Heathrow airport at around 2 am, according to data recorded on Flightradar24.com.
The airline said it was making all possible efforts to minimise the inconvenience caused to passengers, including offering hotel accommodation and placing them on the next available flights to ensure they reached their destination with a minimum of delay.
“The safety of our customers, crew, and aircraft remains our top priority,” it added.
IndiGo is India’s leading domestic air passenger carrier, although its market slipped in August 2026. According to data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), IndiGo carried 78.87 lakh passengers during August 2026, accounting for 65 per cent of the market, down from 67.4 per cent in July.
