Bengaluru, Chennai Air India Express Flights Land In Patna Without Luggage Due To Safety Issues

Patna: Two Air India Express flights landed at Patna's Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport on Saturday morning without carrying any of the checked-in baggage for arriving passengers, leaving travellers stunned and frustrated. Air India Express flights IX-2936 from Bengaluru and IX-1634 from Chennai landed at Patna airport at 8:23 am and 8:50 am, respectively. Passengers were told to collect their luggage from belts 4 and 3, but after waiting for a long time, they realised that no baggage had arrived.

The issue resulted in angry passengers confronting the airline staff, who cited safety issues as a reason for why the luggage was not loaded onto the flight. A passenger from Bengaluru, Vivek Sharma, told Times Of India that passengers waited for more than an hour and that they we were not given clear answers on when they would receive their luggages. Another passenger frowned that there were medicines that were in the luggage, seeking immediate delivery.

Luggage to be delivered to homes

According to reports, the luggage is expected to reach Patna soon and will be delivered to the passengers' homes. Airport officials told reporters that the primary issue was the aircraft's load capacity, where airlines staff are forced to unload checked baggage to meet the maximum take-off weight. Bad weather in Bengaluru and Chennai, and Patna airport's short runway were also blamed as to why the luggage could not be loaded. Airline staff and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel had to intervene to manage the frustrated passengers. Air India has not issued an official statement as of Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, an Air India Express flight from Delhi to Patna was diverted to Varanasi on Saturday due to adverse weather conditions. An airline spokesperson said that Air India Express flight IX1014 from Delhi (DEL) to Patna (PAT) on 21 June 2025 was diverted to Varanasi (VNS). "Due to adverse weather conditions, one of our flights to Patna was diverted briefly to Varanasi. When the weather improved, the flight resumed and landed in Patna. We regret the delay caused by circumstances beyond our control," the spokesperson said. Earlier on Friday, Air India had cancelled several international and domestic flights due to increased aircraft checks, bad weather, and airspace restrictions. Affected flights include services between Dubai, Chennai, Delhi, Melbourne, Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, and Mumbai.

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