Bhubaneswar: A Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Indigo flight (6E-314) had to make emergency landing shortly after take-off from Biju Patnaik International airport here due to a bird-hit.
An owl struck the plane when it took off from the runway no 14 of the airport with 191 passengers on board at 06.29 pm on Sunday. The plane had to return to the airport and landed safely at 06.58 pm, a statement issued by the airport authorities said.
All passengers aboard have been reported to be safe. No damage to the flight has been reported, it added.
The aircraft departed again at 08.23 pm after a thorough inspection by airline’s engineers.
The airport authorities are taking steps to prevent bird menace. "We are taking several measures including bursting of crackers, reflecting film and frequent inspections by expert teams to control bird menace. Recently, a team of experts from OUAT had conducted thorough inspection and suggested several measures like vegetation management and insect control to reduce bird hazards," the statement added.