Smoke detected on IndiGo flight from Bengaluru to Chennai before take-off, passengers evacuated

An IndiGo flight, 6E 6017, scheduled to fly from Bengaluru to Chennai, was evacuated minutes before take-off on Tuesday after smoke was detected. All passengers on the Chennai-bound flight were said to be safe.

In a statement, an IndiGo spokesperson said “no injuries were reported in the incident and all passengers and crew members were safe and were taken back to the terminal”.

“On May 26, 2026, while IndiGo flight 6E 6017 from Bengaluru to Chennai was taxiing to the runway for departure, smoke was detected in the aircraft. An immediate evacuation was carried out for safety and all relevant authorities were informed. All customers and crew are safe and have been moved to the terminal where our replacement flight will take care of them. They will depart shortly and refreshments are being served to customers to pass the time waiting At IndiGo, the safety of our customers and crew remains our top priority,” said an IndiGo spokesperson.

Meanwhile, an IndiGo flight operating from Delhi to Shirdi was diverted to Navi Mumbai last week after bad weather conditions at the destination airport prevented a safe landing, officials said.

A flight scheduled to land at Shirdi airport on Friday was forced to divert as adverse weather conditions persist in the region, disrupting normal flight operations.

According to officials, the flight was diverted to Navi Mumbai as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of passengers.

DGCA asks airlines to follow medical preparedness SOPs

In a separate incident, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday issued instructions to airlines following the World Health Organization’s declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) over the outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda.

In an order dated May 22, the DGCA said the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MoHFW) has issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) for health preparedness in light of the epidemic. The order further stated that countries neighboring the DRC and Uganda, including South Sudan, “have been assessed as having a high risk of disease transmission”.