New Delhi, May 12 : An Etihad Airways flight from Chennai to Abu Dhabi was cancelled on Tuesday after a technical issue was detected moments before takeoff, prompting emergency protocols and the safe evacuation of passengers from the aircraft.

According to reports, the Airbus A320 operating flight EY343 was preparing for departure from Chennai airport with around 280 passengers on board when engineers identified a hydraulic leak during pre-takeoff checks.

Following the detection of the fault, the aircraft was declared â??Aircraft on Groundâ?? (AOG), indicating that it was unfit for operations until further inspection and repairs were completed.

Passengers were safely deboarded and the aircraft was later towed back to the parking bay for maintenance checks. No injuries were reported in the incident.

Initial reports had suggested that smoke or signs of fire were noticed near the aircraftâ??s left wing during takeoff preparations, triggering concern among passengers and airport authorities. Fire and rescue services were immediately deployed as a precautionary measure.

However, the airline later clarified that there was no fire onboard the aircraft. In a statement quoted by Gulf News, Etihad Airways said the plane had taxied back to the gate following a technical issue before takeoff.

The airline stated that emergency services responded in accordance with standard safety procedures followed at Chennai airport and stressed that the deployment was purely precautionary.

Explaining the disruption, Etihad Airways said flight EY343 returned to the gate before passengers disembarked safely. The carrier added that the flight was expected to depart with a delay of around three hours and apologised to passengers for the inconvenience caused.

The airline further said its staff were assisting travellers with onward journey arrangements and advised passengers to update their contact information through the airlineâ??s website to receive flight updates through SMS and email notifications.

The Abu Dhabi-based airline has recently strengthened connectivity by introducing twice-daily Airbus A321LR services to Mumbai and New Delhi in addition to its existing double-daily wide-body operations on the routes.

/IANS