Half-hour blackout on runway, IndiGo passengers gasp in darkness

Just before takeoff, all the lights and air conditioning of the plane suddenly went off. In an instant, the cabin turned into a hellhole of darkness and intense heat. The passengers were stuck inside the plane for about half an hour in such suffocating conditions. This extreme suffering incident occurred due to a mechanical fault on IndiGo Airlines flight 6E657 from Vadodara to Delhi.

Airport sources said that while the plane was stationary on the runway, the ground power unit suddenly failed. Normally, this unit supplies power to emergency systems like lights and AC when the engine is off. Due to the failure of the ground power unit, the entire plane remained stationary in darkness and intense heat for about 30 minutes from 8:40pm to 9:15pm.

In a video that went viral on social media, passengers were seen sweltering in the heat in the dark cabin. Many were trying to cool themselves with files, newspapers and other items they had at hand, hoping for a little air. The power outage caused intense anger and panic among the passengers. Immediately after the incident, a team of technicians went to repair the plane and were able to restore power to the plane. Although it was scheduled to leave at 8:40pm, the plane finally departed for Delhi around 10pm.