IndiGo’s Delhi–Manchester flight: A 14-hour journey to nowhere
The Hindu
IndiGo's flight to Manchester turned back after eight hours due to last-minute airspace restrictions amid ongoing West Asia conflict.
An IndiGo flight from Delhi to Manchester was forced to turn back after being airborne for nearly eight hours over Ethiopia, even though the aircraft had completely skirted the conflict-affected Persian Gulf region, effectively turning the journey into a 14-hour flight that ended back where it began.
The airline attributed the diversion to “last-minute airspace restrictions.”
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This was the first IndiGo flight to Manchester since February 26, as the Boeing 787-8 aircraft leased from Norse Atlantic Airways falls under the jurisdiction of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which barred its carriers from flying over 11 countries in West Asia in an advisory issued on February 28 due to the airstrikes between Israel and Iran.
The Boeing 787 aircraft took off from Delhi at 12.30 a.m. on Monday (March 9, 2026). It avoided the entire Gulf region, and entered Africa through Ethiopia and was flying over Eritrea when it did a u-turn and started returning to Delhi. It landed at Delhi at 2.30 p.m..
“Our flight 6E 033 operating from Delhi to Manchester, had to return to its origin due to last minute airspace restrictions, owing to the ongoing situation in West Asia. We are working with the relevant authorities to explore the possibilities of resuming the journey,” IndiGo said in a press statement.
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