NEW DELHI: Five people were injured after a Swiss International Air Lines flight bound for Zurich aborted takeoff at Delhi’s main airport early on Sunday following an engine-related issue, the airline said.
The flight, LX147 from New Delhi to Zurich, was forced to halt its takeoff shortly after 1am local time after a problem occurred with one of its engines, prompting the crew to initiate an emergency evacuation.
“Shortly after 1am local time on April 26, an issue occurred with one of the engines during the takeoff of flight LX147 in Delhi.
The crew aborted the takeoff and, after assessing the situation, decided as a precaution to evacuate the aircraft,” the airline said in a statement.
Swiss' HB-JHK, Operating Delhi – Zurich as LX147, Suffered a Engine Number 1 Failure on the Take-Off Roll.
Emergency Slides were then deployed, and the Aircraft was Evacuated on the Runway as a Precaution. pic.twitter.com/2d5pDqzVox
— AviationAll (@AviationAll_) April 26, 2026
Swiss International said four passengers and one crew member were injured during the evacuation.
The injured passengers were taken to hospital, while the crew member sustained a sprained ankle.
The airline had initially reported six injuries but later revised the figure to five.
There were 228 passengers, four infants and 13 crew members on board the Airbus A330 aircraft at the time of the incident.
Reports of fire and smoke
The airline did not provide further details on the cause of the incident.
However, the Economic Times reported that one of the engines caught fire as the aircraft accelerated along the runway, and that injuries occurred during the emergency evacuation.
Separately, Indian news agency ANI, citing sources, reported that smoke was seen emanating from the left-side wheel of the aircraft during takeoff.
In a statement posted on X, Delhi Airport said that “all prescribed safety protocols were promptly executed, and passengers were safely evacuated”, adding that airport operations remained unaffected.
Fire services were alerted to a “full hydraulic emergency” on the runway at around 2:06am, and five fire tenders were dispatched to the scene, according to the fire department.
The situation was brought under control, and the aircraft was secured safely, officials said.
Swiss International said it had set up a task force to investigate the incident.
The aborted takeoff adds to a series of recent aviation safety incidents in India.
On March 28, an IndiGo flight made an emergency landing at Delhi airport after experiencing what police described as an engine failure-like situation while en route from Visakhapatnam.
