Ranchi: An Air India Express flight bound for Bengaluru experienced a five-hour departure delay at Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi on Sunday after airline operations had to source supplementary oxygen cylinders from New Delhi. The delay occurred after the aircraft’s onboard emergency oxygen reserves were utilized to attend to a medical emergency during the preceding inbound journey.
According to airport officials, Air India Express flight IX 1239 touched down in Ranchi from Bengaluru at approximately 8:55 AM. During that flight, a traveller developed acute breathing difficulties, requiring cabin crew members to administer emergency oxygen support mid-air. Following a safe landing at the airport, the passenger was examined, found to be in stable condition, and permitted to travel home.
Because the aircraft’s onboard emergency medical supply needed replenishment before cleared operations could resume, the scheduled return flight, IX 1244, was temporarily held on the tarmac while fresh cylinders were flown in from Delhi. Birsa Munda Airport Director Vinod Kumar Singh stated that the outbound aircraft subsequently departed for Bengaluru at around 1:51 PM once the replacement oxygen equipment arrived and mandatory safety clearances were completed.
