Star Air Nanded-Pune Flight Delayed by Four Hours After Bird Strike
Pune, 13th November 2026: Passengers travelling on a Star Air flight from Nanded to Pune on Wednesday faced a delay of nearly four hours, leaving several flyers frustrated over the lack of timely communication from the airline.
The flight, numbered S5-249, was scheduled to depart from Nanded at 1.30 pm and arrive in Pune at 2.40 pm. However, it eventually took off at around 5.30 pm and reached Pune at 6.12 pm. The delay also affected the aircraft’s return service from Pune to Nanded.
Passengers expressed dissatisfaction over the disruption and alleged that the airline had failed to provide adequate updates about the revised schedule.
“There was no proper information due to which flyers got very angry. This is a flight under UDAN and such delays reflect badly on the scheme,” a passenger said.
Star Air Attributes Delay to Bird Strike in Goa
Responding to the incident, Star Air said the disruption was primarily caused by a bird strike involving its aircraft at Manohar International Airport in Mopa, Goa.
According to an airline spokesperson, the aircraft was temporarily declared unairworthy following the incident. It had initially departed from Goa for Nanded at 8.42 am but was forced to return to Mopa, where it landed at 9.02 am after the bird strike.
The airline said it arranged an alternative aircraft at the earliest available opportunity to operate the Pune-Nanded-Pune services and minimise further disruption.
The spokesperson also cited changes associated with the transition from the summer flight schedule to the winter schedule. The timings for the sector were reportedly revised twice to accommodate final slot approvals and the permitted operating hours of the connected airports.
