The Near Miss at T3: How a Blazing Bus Sparked Fear, Then Relief, at Delhi Airport

You know, some days at a bustling international airport feel like any other, a symphony of arrivals and departures, engines humming, and the distant murmur of countless voices. But then, there are moments that shatter that routine, moments that make your heart leap right into your throat. Monday afternoon at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, Terminal 3, was one such moment, a stark reminder of how quickly things can — and sometimes almost do — go awry.

It was, for once, a fairly ordinary Monday, just shy of 1 p.m., when a shuttle bus, an IndiGo 'APRON' bus no less, suddenly erupted in flames. Not just anywhere, mind you, but terrifyingly close to a waiting aircraft. Imagine the scene: plumes of thick, acrid smoke coiling upwards, a stark contrast against the clear blue sky, right there on the tarmac where safety is paramount. The bus, fortunately, was empty at the time; no passengers aboard, a small blessing in a moment of escalating panic.

But the proximity, that's what truly sent shivers down the spine. This inferno was unfolding perilously close to an IndiGo Airbus A320, registration VT-IGX, packed with about 180 souls, all ready for their journey to Bengaluru. And you could just feel the collective gasp. An airport is a high-stakes environment, always, and a fire near an aircraft? That's the stuff of nightmares, honestly.

The alarm, naturally, went up immediately. Airport fire services, a team that truly earns their keep in moments like these, swung into action with remarkable speed. It was a race against time, a desperate effort to contain the blaze before it could spread, before it could ignite something far, far worse. They fought the flames with an almost surgical precision, dousing the burning vehicle, and in a tense 10 to 15 minutes — though it must have felt like an eternity — the fire was extinguished. Relief, palpable and profound, swept through the ground staff and those watching, one might imagine.

While the immediate danger was averted, the incident left its mark. The IndiGo aircraft, that A320 destined for Bengaluru, wasn't entirely spared; its underbelly, part of the fuselage, suffered some minor damage. As a precaution, and quite rightly so, all 180 passengers were deplaned, their journey undoubtedly delayed, but their safety unequivocally secured. The suspected culprit? A short circuit within the bus, a tiny electrical flaw almost leading to a colossal catastrophe.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has, of course, launched a full inquiry. These things always demand a thorough investigation, a careful unwinding of what went wrong to ensure it never, ever happens again. Because while Monday's scare ended with a collective sigh of relief and no injuries, it served as a stark, fiery reminder of the constant vigilance required to keep the skies — and the ground beneath them — safe for us all. It truly did.