A Kingfisher flight to Bangalore with 96 passengers on board had to return to Mumbai airport just 12 minutes after taking off as the aircraft developed a technical problem in its landing gear.

An airport spokesperson said the flight — IT103 — had taken off from the airport at 9.05 am. “The flight returned at 9.17 am as its landing gear was not retracting. There was no emergency landing and the aircraft landed safely.”

A Kingfisher Airlines spokesperson said, “Shortly after take-off from Mumbai, the flight commander noticed a warning light in the cockpit. He decided to return to Mumbai and get the aircraft checked. All guests are safe.”

The passengers were later put on another Kingfisher aircraft, which took off at 11.20 am.