Emirates cancels Mumbai-Dubai flight due to technical reasons

MUMBAI: Gulf carrier Emirates on Thursday cancelled a flight to Dubai due to technical reasons, leaving as many as 70-odd passengers stranded.

Although the airline did not specify the technical reasons behind cancelling the flight, some of the stranded passengers alleged that the move by Emirates had been due to the flight having suffered a bird hit while landing at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in the wee hours today.

"Emirates flight EK 501 from Mumbai to Dubai was cancelled due to technical reasons. Passengers have been accommodated on subsequent flights EK 505 and EK 507 departing to Dubai," the airline said in a statement here.

However, one of the stranded passengers said: "After waiting in the queue for almost an hour-and-a-half, we were informed that it (the flight) has been rescheduled to 5am.

"Later on, we were told that the flight had been cancelled due to the grounding of the aircraft after it suffered a bird hit while landing," Khushroo Panthaky, a passenger said.

"While most of the over 300 passengers either opted for other flights, some 70 passengers, who have connecting flights from Dubai to other destinations, are stranded as they have been put on the next day's flight," said Panthaky, who was to have taken a connecting flight to New York from Dubai.

Source:   http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com