Boeing 737-800 Thai Lion Air flight to Bangkok grounded in Kolkata after technical snag

The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, had arrived at the airport around 1:23 am with 151 passengers on board and was scheduled to depart at 2:35 am for Bangkok's Don Mueang International Airport.

However, after encountering pushback from the parking bay, the plane developed a flap-related issue and had to return, resulting in the cancellation of the flight.

There were 130 passengers and seven crew members on board at the time the fault was detected, officials said.

Passengers were provided hotel accommodation, according to an airline official. He added that the onboard company engineer was unable to resolve the technical snag, necessitating the aircraft’s grounding in Kolkata.

To address the issue, two engineers from Thai Lion Air’s base in Bangkok are expected to arrive on Saturday night to carry out repairs.

The disruption also caused a 25-minute delay for a Qatar Airways flight arriving from Doha, which had to wait for a parking bay, an Airports Authority of India official said.