By: Express News Service

AN Air India flight was cancelled on Sunday after the pilot reported smoke emanating from an unspecified source in the cockpit when the flight was about to take off at the Pune Airport. The incident also led to blocking of the runway at the airport leading to diversion of two flights ,which were to land at the airport. The flight AI 854 was scheduled to depart on Saturday but was rescheduled for Sunday afternoon due to some “technical issues.” The incident led to cancellation of the flight and the 25 passengers on board had to wait for hours until they were accommodated in another AI flight. Air India and the Airports Authority of India officials denied that there was a fire in the aircraft. “It was a technical snag. While the flight was about to take off, the captain noticed that there was some smoke. The aircraft was then brought to the parking bay and inspected. There was no fire. Sometimes if the fuel is old it may cause extra smoke. We accommodated the passengers in another flight,” said Suhas Jadhav, Station Manager, Air India.