Bhubaneswar, June 16: A Mumbai-bound IndiGo flight was grounded at Biju Patnaik International Airport today as it developed a snag after being hit by a bird during take off from Calcutta.

The Calcutta-Bhubanes-war-Mumbai flight was carrying 178 passengers and crew on board when it landed here. While all aboard the aircraft were safe, airport officials said the flight encountered the bird-hit while taking off from Calcutta.

Sources said the flight developed a technical snag after its left wing was hit by a bird and landed at Bhubaneswar airport at 8.11am, where it was grounded. Later, the private airline made alternative arrangements and accommodated the passengers on another flight, which had arrived from New Delhi.

As a result, the return flight to the New Delhi had to be cancelled and passengers were told it was because of a technical problem. Around 110 passengers were waiting at the airport to board the flight to New Delhi.

Saktidhar Biswal, who was among those waiting to board the flight to New Delhi, said: "I was waiting for the flight when suddenly, officials of the airline informed us that the flight had been cancelled. The officials did not even give a satisfactory reason for the cancellation. We were forced to make alternative arrangements."

They also said passengers waiting to board from Bhubaneswar airport were not given priority. "The grounded flight was flying to Mumbai and the airline accommodated their travel on our flight. This shows that passengers from Bhubaneswar are not given enough importance," alleged one passenger. Officials of the airline, however, refused to comment on the issue.

Sanjay Jain, the regional executive director (eastern region) of the Airports Authority of India, who was visiting the airport today, said the incident did not happen in Bhubaneswar.

"A bird hit the flight while taking off from Calcutta airport. We have been cleaning the airport area to keep away birds. We have also been in touch with the state government and asked them to solve the problem by shutting down shops selling non-vegetarian food in the vicinity of the airport," said Jain.

This was not the first time that a flight was stranded at Bhubaneswar airport owing to a bird-hit.

On May 5, passengers of a Bhubaneswar-bound Vistara flight from New Delhi had a close shave after a bird hit it while landing.

The flight, with 51 passengers and six crew on board, landed at the airport with its front portion damaged.

In a related incident, a new cargo terminal was inaugurated at the airport. Airport officials said the terminal, equipped with high-end X-ray scanners, would benefit the airlines. "The airport handles around 10 tonnes of cargo daily. The new facility will increase the capacity to 23 tonnes. We expect the airport to handle 30 tonnes of cargo in another year," Jain said.

He also said several new projects, including a new control tower, two hangers, and upgrade of the fire station have been approved and would be completed within the next 30 months.