Smoke scare on Emirates flight at Chennai airport

Chennai Airport Chaos

A Dubai-bound Emirates flight was delayed at Chennai International Airport on Tuesday evening due to smoke coming from the tail end of the aircraft. The incident occurred at about 9:40 PM on Tuesday while the ground crew refuelled the jet before it took off. The ground crew alerted the pilots, who then turned off the flying engines.

Firefighters rushed to the spot, and the situation was brought under control. Technical experts inspected the flight to check whether any repair was required before the take-off. Although the actual cause of the smoke is yet to be determined, sources suggest that heat generated due to excess fuel in the fuel tank could be the reason behind it. As their boarding was delayed, 320 passengers were accommodated in the airport's waiting room. After all necessary inspections were conducted, the flight took off with 280 passengers.

A spokesperson from Emirates was quoted as saying, 

“Emirates flight EK547 from Chennai to Dubai on 24 September 2024 was delayed due to a technical fault. Following an engineering inspection, the aircraft was cleared to proceed to Dubai. Emirates apologises for the inconvenience caused. The safety of our passengers and crew is of the utmost importance."