Air India plane grounded after veering off runway in Mumbai

Air India flight AI2744, operating from Kochi to Mumbai, experienced heavy rain during landing, resulting in a “runway excursion” after touchdown on Monday.

The aircraft, an Airbus A320neo, has been grounded for checks, an Air India spokesperson said.

“The aircraft taxied safely to the gate, and all passengers and crew members have since disembarked,” the airline said, adding that the safety of passengers and crew remains its “top priority”.

Pictures available on the social media platform X showed that the nacelle of the right engine suffered some damage.

The Met Office has forecast heavy rains in Mumbai. Following the incident, Adani Airports-operated Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) said emergency response teams were immediately activated to manage the runway excursion.

"There are minor damages reported to the airport's primary runway - 09/27. In order to ensure continuity of operations, the secondary runway 14/32 - has been activated," Mumbai International Airport Ltd said.

India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), is expected to take note of the incident.

In June, the DGCA had ordered Air India to “remove” three officials involved in crew scheduling and rostering, warning that any future violation of norms will attract strict enforcement action, including licence suspension.

“The voluntary disclosures, while noted, point to systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability. Of particular concern is the absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials directly responsible for these operational lapses,” DGCA said in its order on June 21.

The DGCA had said these officials have been involved in serious and repeated lapses including but not limited to unauthorised and non-compliant crew pairings, violation of mandatory licensing and recency norms, and systemic failures in scheduling protocol and oversight.

“Any future violation of crew scheduling norms, licensing, or flight time limitations detected in any post-audit or inspection, will attract strict enforcement action, including but not limited to penalties, license suspension, or withdrawal of operator permissions as applicable,” the regulator had warned.