Bus operated by Air India's ground handler catches fire at Delhi Airport; no injuries reported

A bus operated by AI SATS, a third-party ground-handling service provider for Air India, caught fire near bay number 32 at Delhi Airport's Terminal 3 (T3) on Tuesday morning.

According to multiple reports, the incident took place just a few metres away from an aircraft.

Fortunately, no passengers were onboard the bus at the time of the fire. The blaze was quickly brought under control by the airport fire team, and no injuries or damage to nearby aircraft were reported.

"In a stray incident, a bus operated by one of the Ground handlers caught fire around noon today. Our expert ARFF team on ground immediately swung into action and extinguished the fire within a couple of minutes," Delhi Airport said while responding to a passenger's query on social media platform X.

"The bus was stationary and fully vacant at the time of the incident. There were no injuries/casualties. All operations continue to be normal. Safety of our passengers and staff remains paramount to us," they added.

However, a query sent to AI SATS went answered while writing the article.

The incident comes amid a series of recent operational disruptions faced by Air India. Earlier this month, a US-bound Air India flight from Mumbai to Newark had to return shortly after take-off due to a suspected technical snag.

On October 22, Air India said that the crew of flight AI191 operating from Mumbai to Newark made a precautionary air-return to Mumbai due to a suspected technical issue.

"The flight landed safely back in Mumbai, and the aircraft is undergoing necessary inspections," according to Air India spokesperson.

In another case, a Delhi-bound flight from Milan was stranded following a technical issue, leaving over 250 passengers stuck overseas before the airline arranged a relief flight.

However, the airline claimed it had extended all immediate assistance to affected passengers, including hotel accommodation and meals.

"Full refunds or complimentary rescheduling were also offered as per passenger preference," the airline stated.

(With inputs from IANS)