20 February,2016 10:30 AM IST | | Neha LM Tripathi
The 10.20 am Bhubaneshwar-bound flight took off at 10.45 after an Air India pilot informed the ATC about the presence of a drone-like object in the aerospace
Adding to the growing incidents of pilots spotting unidentified flying objects (UFOs) in the aerospace over international and domestic airports, a Bhubaneshwar-bound Indigo flight was delayed by almost 30 minutes after an Air India pilot informed the Air Traffic Control (ATC) centre about the presence of a drone-like object near Jari Mari slums.
Also read: Mystery of UFOs over Mumbai airport solved, two held for releasing balloons
Picture for representation. AFP
The incident occurred around 10.20 am yesterday after the pilot of AI 616 (Hyderabad-Mumbai) informed the ATC centre about spotting a drone-like object in the aerospace. Upon receiving this information, IndiGo flight 6E 553 was asked to return to its bay immediately.
"The pilot brought to the (ATC) notice that while landing at the airport he spotted a flying object. Indigo's lined up aircraft was asked to hold. It was only after we were sure, the flight was allowed to take off at 10.45 am. This delayed the flight by 25 minutes," said an ATC official, adding, "A wide variety of aerial lanterns and balloons are being sold at traffic signals. Probably this has increased the sightings of UFOs by pilots. Stringent action is needed against those releasing such objects into the aerospace."
Also read: Mystery shrouds UFOs seen hovering over Mumbai airport
Speaking to mid-day, an MIAL officer said the Joint Control Centre (JCC), Mumbai, received an alert around 10.30 am about an UFO following which the local police was alerted. However, upon conducting a recce, the airport authorities found nothing near the runway.
