Mumbai Airport Averts Disaster as Two Air India Group Planes Meet on Same Runway

A potential runway collision was narrowly avoided at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on the night of July 7, 2026, after two aircraft belonging to the same parent airline group ended up on the same runway at the same time. Quick action from air traffic control prevented what could have been a serious accident.

How the incident unfolded

At around 10 PM on Tuesday, an Air India Express flight, AIX1547, arriving from Siliguri on a narrow-body Boeing 737 MAX 8, had just landed but had not yet cleared the runway. At nearly the same moment, Air India flight AI816, a wide-body Boeing 777-300ER bound for Delhi, was cleared to begin its take-off roll on that same runway. Realizing the two aircraft were on a collision course, the air traffic controller intervened in time, instructing the AI816 crew to abort. The crew discontinued the take-off run and returned safely to the bay, averting a potential disaster.

The airline's response

In an official statement, Air India confirmed the sequence of events, saying the crew operating flight AI816 discontinued the take-off run after receiving an instruction to do so from air traffic control and returned to the bay. The airline said the aircraft would undergo the required inspections in line with standard operating procedure, and that arrangements were being made to fly the affected passengers onward through an alternative plan.

Investigation now underway

A joint investigation by aviation authorities, including India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation, has been launched to determine the exact sequence of events and identify any lapses in runway management or communication at Mumbai airport. As is standard practice in incidents involving air traffic control decisions, the circumstances surrounding the clearance given to AI816 while AIX1547 had not yet cleared the runway will be closely examined.

Part of a wider pattern of concern

This marks the second reported ground incident involving Air India in less than a month. Weeks earlier, on June 24, an Air India aircraft and an IndiGo flight came face to face on a taxiway at Ahmedabad airport after the Air India aircraft took an unintended turn while taxiing to its parking bay. That incident is also under DGCA investigation, though both airlines confirmed the aircraft maintained safe separation throughout and there was no compromise to passenger safety. Together, the two incidents have renewed scrutiny of runway and taxiway coordination at India's busiest airports, a concern that isn't new: a similar runway incursion at Mumbai airport in June 2024, involving an IndiGo landing and an Air India take-off on the same runway, led to the responsible air traffic controller being taken off duty pending investigation.

Why runway incursions like this matter

Incidents like this highlight just how much depends on split-second coordination between air traffic control and flight crews at high-density airports. Mumbai's airport is among the busiest in India, and its air traffic controllers' union has pointed out that arrivals and departures are often cleared within minutes of each other on the same runway, a practice that requires precise timing and communication to remain safe. Investigators will now determine whether this incident points to a communication breakdown, a scheduling error, or another contributing factor, with findings expected to shape any procedural changes recommended for Mumbai airport going forward.