The IndiGo flight had just arrived in Delhi from Lucknow with 176 passengers while the Spicejet flight with 187 on board was about to take off for Hyderabad when the two aircraft came face to face. The IndiGo pilot suddenly applied the brakes and while passengers for panicked in the chaos, the plane came to a halt after a grating noise, said a source.
"Following Standard Operating Procedures, [the pilot] took the decision to switch off the engine and reported the incident to the Air Traffic Controller," IndiGo said in a statement.
Earlier in the morning, a Jet Airways flight with 154 passengers on board skidded off the runway at the Goa Airport. The flight had arrived from Dubai and was bound for Mumbai. The aircraft tilted forward resulting in panic among passengers. About 15 people reportedly suffered minor injuries and fractures.
As the Goa airport is located in Indian Navy's facility, the naval staff assisted in the evacuation.
"The Navy responded within 15-20 minutes and all the passengers were evacuated safely out of the aircraft. It would have turned into a catastrophe had the Navy not acted promptly," a Naval spokesperson said.
The Director General of Civil Aviation has initiated separate probes into both incidents.
