An IndiGo flight from Pune to Hyderabad suffered minor nose damage after a bird strike detected when the aircraft landed on Sunday morning, leaving passengers safe but forcing the cancellation of its onward Hyderabad–Chandigarh service.
The Airbus A321neo, operating flight 6E-352, took off from Pune at around 6.32am and landed in Hyderabad at 7.23am, according to information reported by the Times of India. The aircraft was carrying more than 100 passengers. Passengers said they did not feel an impact during the flight and described the journey and landing as normal.
“It was a regular flight. It landed on time and everything inside the cabin was normal. While coming out of the aircraft, I overheard some passengers talking about the incident,” one passenger told the newspaper, requesting anonymity.
The bird strike was detected after the aircraft reached Hyderabad. Airline sources cited in the report said the aircraft had suffered minor damage to its nose and would be flight-worthy after the necessary checks and maintenance. An official statement from IndiGo was awaited when the report was published.
The precise point at which the bird struck the aircraft was not immediately established. Airline sources indicated that the incident may have occurred while the aircraft was approaching Hyderabad airport, although bird strikes can take place during take-off, shortly after an aircraft gains altitude, during landing approach or after landing.
The aircraft had been scheduled to operate a Hyderabad–Chandigarh service after arriving from Pune. That subsequent flight was cancelled, according to an airline source. The report did not provide details of the arrangements made for passengers booked on the cancelled service.
The incident has renewed attention on bird-hit risks around Pune airport, which operates from the Lohegaon area. Data cited in the report shows that 145 bird-hit incidents involving aircraft were reported in Pune between 2020 and 2024. The figures cover a period during which bird activity around the airport remained a recurring concern for aviation stakeholders.
A bird hit was detected last October on a Pune–Delhi Akasa Air flight. In June last year, a similar incident was detected on an Air India aircraft that had landed in Pune from Delhi. The report said civic authorities have repeatedly stated that efforts were being made to remove garbage and other waste from areas surrounding Lohegaon airport, since such waste can attract birds and increase the risk of strikes.
Aviation experts and passengers have nevertheless continued to raise concerns about the effectiveness of those measures. The latest incident involved no reported passenger injuries, but it resulted in aircraft maintenance requirements and disruption to the next scheduled service. IndiGo’s aircraft was expected to return to operation only after the necessary inspections and maintenance were completed.