Vistara Flight UK966, an Airbus A320, Ahmedabad-Delhi flight suffers technical snag

Vistara said its fleet of A320neo aircraft do not suffer from the same problems as the IndiGo planes because they have a different engine.

Representational image

Vistara Flight UK966 landed at Ahmedabad airport a short while after it took off following a technical snag. The flight was headed towards Delhi when the incident happened. The flight took off from Ahmedabad at 8:40 pm and turned around and landed at 8:56 pm, according to multiple live flight tracking sites. It seems the aircraft did not fly higher than an altitude of 1000 m during its short fly around.

Vistara's fleet is composed entirely of Airbus A320-200 and A320neo aircraft. Most A320neo planes in India, most from IndiGo, have been grounded after a technical fault in the Pratt & Whitney engines threatened engine failure mid-flight.

It is unclear if UK966 was an A320 neo, or the earlier A320-200 variant.

Vistara soon tweeted to clarify that their fleet of Airbus A320 neo aircraft did not suffer from the same issues that have grounded IndiGo's fleet. The airline said it had chosen to go for the CFM International LEAP-1A engine, and not the now-problematic Pratt & Whitney PW1000G engines. However, it stopped short of confirming if UK966 was an A320-200 or A320neo.

"There are two engine options on the A320neo. We have chosen GE/CFM on our neos, and these are not affected by the engine issues that relate to the other manufacturer. Thanks," Vistara clarified.

Hi, Siddharth. There are two engine options on the A320neo. We have chosen GE/CFM on our neos, and these are not affected by the engine issues that relate to the other manufacturer. Thanks

— Vistara (@airvistara) March 30, 2018

The airline also tweeted that a replacement aircraft was being flown in from Delhi and that the rescheduled flight would take off from Ahmedabad at 1:30 am on Saturday morning. The flight was scheduled to take off at 8:35 pm on Friday.

We regret the inconvenience. UK966 is cancelled due to technical glitch, relief aircraft is being sent from DEL and will depart from AMD at 0130 hrs. Thanks for your understanding and patience.

— Vistara (@airvistara) March 30, 2018

There were some tweets on the flight's return to Ahmedabad and the ensuing delay in the journey.

"@airvistara Flight UK966 postponed by an estimated 3hours, due to an engine problem. Passengers stranded at AMD airport with nowhere to sit #platinum #notjustanotherneo," read a tweet from @simplythebestro

@airvistara Flight UK966 postponed by an estimated 3hours, due to an engine problem. Passengers stranded at AMD airport with nowhere to sit #platinum #notjustanotherneo pic.twitter.com/FJX0SkALyn

— Rohit Sharma (@simplythebestro) March 30, 2018

"What’s with UK966 tonight? VT-TNH why it took off and immediately returned back to AMD? Medical or Technical? #NotjustanotherNeo," read part of a tweet from @ravinmehta84.

@airvistara @TheSanjivKapoor What’s with UK966 tonight? VT-TNH why it took off and immediately returned back to AMD? Medical or Technical? #NotjustanotherNeo

— Ravin Mehta (@ravinmehta84) March 30, 2018

"@airvistara  uk966  Ahemdabad to delhi... In faulty condition I think your not knowing importance of our precious time," tweeted @malavjoshi93

@airvistara uk966 Ahemdabad to delhi
In faulty condition I think your not knowing importance of our precious time
I think you gave worst service in all airline

— malav joshi (@malavjoshi93) March 30, 2018

Vistara responded to multiple tweets seeking information on the rescheduling of the flight. It also put out a number of tweets apologising for the inconvenience caused to the passengers.