Air India A320neo skids off Mumbai runway; all passengers disembark safely

Flight AI2744 from Kochi veered into unpaved area during landing amid heavy rain; aircraft returned to taxiway, prompting use of Mumbai airport's secondary runway

An Air India aircraft skidded off the runway and entered an unpaved area briefly before coming back to the strip at Mumbai airport on Monday morning amid heavy rain, giving anxious moments to the fliers on-board. 

 

All the passengers and crew disembarked safely after the aircraft reached the gate.

 

The plane, Air India A320neo, has been grounded.

 

 As the primary runway suffered minor damages due to the incident, the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), which manages and operates the Mumbai airport, activated the secondary runway.

 

This runway excursion incident comes weeks after the June 12 crash of Air India flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 aircraft (VT-ANB), which killed 241 of the 242 people on-board.

 

 

Industry sources said the aircraft operating AI2744 on Monday suffered a runway excursion amid heavy rain in Mumbai. The plane briefly entered an unpaved area but managed to return to the runway and proceeded to the gate.

 

“Flight AI2744, operating from Kochi to Mumbai on 21 July 2025, experienced heavy rain during landing, resulting in a runway excursion after touchdown. The aircraft taxied safely to the gate and all passengers and crew members have since disembarked. The aircraft has been grounded for checks. The safety of passengers and crew remains our top priority,” said an Air India spokesperson.

 

A spokesperson of MIAL said on Monday, “An incoming aircraft from Kochi experienced a runway excursion at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), Mumbai at 09.27 hours on 21 July 2025. CSMIA’s emergency response teams were immediately activated to manage the runway excursion. All passengers and crew are safe.”

 

“There are minor damages reported to the airport’s primary runway – 09/27. In order to ensure continuity of operations, the Secondary Runway – 14/32 – has been activated. At CSMIA, safety always remains our highest priority,” the spokesperson added.

 

CSMIA is the busiest airport in India in terms of the number of flights landing or departing on a single runway per hour.

 

According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, CSMIA is operating about 3,004 flights per week this month. After IndiGo, Air India is the largest airline at CSMIA with 836 services per week this month.

 

 

The preliminary report released by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on July 12 about the June 12 crash revealed that fuel supply to both engines was cut off shortly after take-off, causing dual engine flameout. While the fuel switches were turned back on about 10 seconds later, it was too late to restart the engines. The report did not assign blame and said the role of technical faults had not been ruled out.

 

Following the recent news articles in foreign media publications, AAIB Director General GVG Yugandhar on July 17 issued a statement calling such reports “unfounded” and “premature.”

 

He said some international outlets were drawing conclusions through “selective and unverified reporting” while the probe was still ongoing. “It is too early to reach any definite conclusions,” he said, adding that aviation medicine and psychology experts were involved and that the final report would be released after the investigation concludes.