The incident involved ground handling equipment and foreign object debris striking parked aircraft

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Tata group led Air India has grounded three of its Airbus A320 aircraft after the planes were damaged at Delhi airport during severe weather conditions, sources told businessline.While one of the aircraft has sustained serious damage, two other aircraft are also affected with varying impact requiring time for necessary rectification. The incident involved ground handling equipment and foreign object debris striking parked aircraft at Terminal 2 of IGI Airport during adverse weather conditions on June 7.Aircraft DamagesAccordingly, the severely damaged A320 may have to be grounded for an estimated three weeks for repairs. The other two aircraft will also need some time to become serviceable.Speaking to businessline, industry sources said that the second A320 aircraft is undergoing damage assessment, while the third may be cleared to resume operations within a shorter period of time.The development comes as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has launched an investigation into the incident.According to sources, the airline currently has adequate capacity to cater to passenger demand and does not expect any operational disruption arising from the incident.However, they pointed out that the airline would need to be compensated for the damages sustained by the affected aircraft once the probe establishes the reason for this incident.On its part, Air India declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.As per a DGCA statement, strong winds experienced during the weather event caused two pieces of ground equipment positioned at an adjacent stand and nearby areas to shift from their designated locations.The equipment subsequently struck two separate Airbus A320 aircraft at multiple locations, resulting in structural damage.In addition, the right-hand sliding window of a third aircraft was damaged after being struck by flying debris.The aviation regulator said all three aircraft were initially grounded from commercial service to undergo detailed technical inspections and maintenance checks.The DGCA is currently investigating the sequence of events and examining whether adequate procedures were followed to secure ground handling equipment during adverse weather conditions.Published on June 8, 2026