A passenger's account of a terrifying mid-air scare aboard an IndiGo flight has gone viral after he shared on video how the aircraft cabin filled up with a strong burning smell, forcing panic among travellers. The man, who documented the experience on Instagram, said even the flight attendants looked "confused" and were unable to explain the odour clearly.
The overlay text in the clip reads: "Midair, it started to smell like something was on fire inside the plane. People started checking, and air hostesses were running. One guy was saying to make the plane land." According to him, when several travellers enquired with the crew, they said that the aircraft was new and had completed only two flights so far.
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‘The smell was quite strong’
The man described the scene as tense, adding, “Why the crew got so scared in the end? They managed eventually, but at first, we were all frightened because of the strong smell and the way the situation was handled.” “No proper technical information was given — people just said it might have come from here or somewhere else. The smell was quite strong, not just a faint one, and it stayed and was also increasing," he wrote in his caption.
At the end of the video, the passenger confirmed that the plane did land safely in the end. However, he stated that no clarification was given even to the passengers after the flight landed. “We landed safely, but no one told what actually happened, and the staff was also confused. People literally started crying for a few minutes,” he recounted.
Passengers react online, tag Indigo for clarification
The viral video sparked an influx of responses among social media users, with some attempting to provide explanations.
A user commented, “Maybe because it's new, some protective coatings, elements were being 'burnt' off due to heating of components! But, on a serious note, this can be a terrifying and extremely dangerous situation. Glad all were safe.”
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Another user said, “Bhai vo kabhi kabhi engine se smoke ki smell aati h (Brother, sometimes it's just the smell of smoke from the engine).”
“I was on that flight along with my family. The smoke smell was very strong and stayed for around 15 mins and onboard airhostess were not aware about why it's happening!! It was panic like situation! @indigo.6e no clarification was given to passengers about why it happened and was it being rectified or not. It was really a bad experience”, another user wrote.
Another user claimed, “The problem with Indigo is that it has become like a monopoly. I had the same experience while flying from Goa to Bangalore. There was some weird smell inside the aircraft but the cabin crew least bothered.”
However, IndiGo has not issued any statements on the incident so far.
