An aircraft operated by IndiGo sustained damage on Monday night when it was hit by a ground vehicle at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport. The incident took place as the aircraft was parked on the apron in its parking bay. The Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that due to the accident, the aircraft would be grounded until safety checks could be performed. Fortunately, no passengers or crew were hurt as a result of this accident.
How the Incident Happened
In the first reports of an accident at the airport, a catering vehicle lost control while travelling across the apron and rolled unexpectedly forward. The catering vehicle collided with the engine of a commercial aircraft that was parked and awaiting departure from parking bay 51.
According to airport sources, the vehicle responsible for the accident was being operated without a driver at the time of the incident, raising questions about airport safety and the control systems used for vehicles within the operational zone of the airport. Reports indicate only minor damage was sustained by the aircraft; however, the airline elected to ground the aircraft until an inspection was performed.
IndiGo Issues Official Statement
IndiGo has publicly confirmed that the collision occurred after a ground vehicle from an outside company unexpectedly impacted the fuselage of its plane. That aircraft has been removed temporarily to conduct a thorough inspection, and any necessary maintenance will also take place.
Finally, according to IndiGo representatives, the airline will support airport officials to investigate how the accident occurred, but it will not have permission to fly again until the aircraft has been fully inspected by a safety engineer.
Flight to Guwahati Affected
The plane involved in the incident was supposed to fly as flight number 6E 6663 from Kolkata to Guwahati. After the crash, the airline quickly arranged to operate the route with a different aircraft in order to avoid major delays for its customers.
IndiGo stated that the replacement aircraft would allow the flight to continue on schedule with no negative impact to the travel plans of passengers.
Airport Safety Under Scrutiny
While the extent of the damage was previously said to be limited, safety responsibility and oversight have become major issues for major airports when looking at the overall picture of ground operations.
Ground operations at major airports consist of hundreds of aircraft movements every day with demand from ground vehicles (e.g., catering trucks, luggage loaders/fuellers) operating right next to parked aircraft.
Small errors on behalf of ground vehicle operators—such as a minor miscalculation or failure of a component—can lead to significant damage (in excess of millions of dollars) to an aircraft.
Secondly, aviation experts have indicated that there are policies in place for ground vehicles/operators to ensure that they are being operated safely or at least within the full control of the operator 100% of the time.
As a result, investigators will review not only the vehicle’s log entries but also the CCTV video from the accident scene, along with the aircraft SOPs, to determine how the vehicle ended up where it did and why there was a collision so they can find a definitive answer to the accident and prevent it from ever happening again.
Not the First Airport Incident
Aircraft have had other safety issues when using Indian taxiways or runways previously. An incident occurred in February 2026 where two aircraft belonging to different airlines, Air India and IndiGo, came into contact with their wingtips while taxiing on a runway at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. Thankfully there were no injuries sustained by any of the passengers on board either of these flights; both were stopped safely without major complications occurring from this incident.
Additionally, there was another incident involving an IndiGo A321 that took off from Mumbai airport for a go-around due to a tail strike during bad weather and low-altitude conditions in August of 2025, which was attributed to the same two factors mentioned above.
Investigation Underway
Authorities are now working to determine the exact circumstances that led to the latest accident at Kolkata airport.
Officials say the aircraft will only return to service once all safety inspections and required maintenance checks are completed.
For now, the incident serves as a reminder of the complex coordination required to keep airport operations safe, where even minor errors in ground handling can lead to costly consequences.
Passengers and aviation experts alike will now await the results of the investigation to understand what went wrong and how similar incidents can be prevented in the future.
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