A Star Air flight from Nanded to Pune was delayed by several hours on Wednesday after the aircraft was involved in a bird strike incident at Manohar International Airport in Mopa, Goa, leaving passengers frustrated and delaying the aircraft’s return journey as well.
Flight S5-249 was scheduled to depart Nanded at 1.30pm and reach Pune at 2.40pm. According to the report, the aircraft finally took off at around 5.30pm and landed in Pune at 6.12pm. The Pune-Nanded return leg was also affected by the delay.
Star Air said the disruption began after the aircraft suffered a bird strike at Mopa airport. The airline said the aircraft had initially departed Goa for Nanded at 8.42am but returned to Mopa after the incident, landing at 9.02am. It was then declared temporarily unairworthy.
“Considering the situation, we immediately arranged an alternate aircraft based on the earliest available option and operated the Pune-Nanded-Pune sectors accordingly,” an airline spokesperson said.
The airline also attributed changes in the sector’s timings to the transition from the summer schedule to the winter schedule. According to the spokesperson, the timings were amended twice to align with final slot approvals and the permitted watch hours of the connected airports.
Passengers criticised the lack of timely information about the disruption. One flyer said there was no proper communication, which contributed to anger among those waiting for the flight. The passenger also said the incident reflected poorly on the UDAN scheme because the flight operates under the regional connectivity programme.
The disruption highlights the operational dependence of regional routes on a limited number of aircraft and on airport approvals, operating windows and aircraft availability. In this case, the bird strike occurred outside the route’s two endpoints, but its effect carried through to the Nanded-Pune service because the same aircraft was part of the wider operating sequence.
The airline’s immediate response was to arrange an alternate aircraft and operate the affected sectors. The report does not specify the number of passengers affected or whether any compensation or assistance was provided. The airline’s stated explanation combined the safety-related aircraft grounding with schedule changes linked to seasonal timetable revisions and airport slot approvals.
