Two flight diversions in a day: Indigo lands in Karachi, AI Express diverted to Muscat
An Air India (AI) Express Calicut-Dubai flight was diverted to Muscat after a burning smell was observed from one of the vents in the forward galley mid-air, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on Sunday.
“Air India Express aircraft VT-AXX operating flight IX-355 (Calicut-Dubai) diverted to Muscat as during Cruise, a burning smell emitted from one of the vents in the forward galley,” DGCA said.
Indigo flight lands in Karachi
This is the second incident of a flight diversion in a day as earlier on Sunday, an Indigo flight was diverted to Karachi in Pakistan after the pilot reported a technical defect in the aircraft.
Also read: Technical snag delays SpiceJet flight again; 9th incident in 24 days
The flight, travelling from Sharjah to Hyderabad, observed a technical defect, after which it was diverted to Pakistan as a precautionary measure, Indigo said.
All the passengers were safe and an additional flight was sent to Karachi to fly them to Hyderabad, the airline carrier said.
“IndiGo flight 6E-1406, operating from Sharjah to Hyderabad was diverted to Karachi. The pilot observed a technical defect. Necessary procedures were followed and as a precaution, the aircraft was diverted to Karachi. An additional flight is being sent to Karachi to fly the passengers to Hyderabad,” the company said in a release.
Increasing number of technical snags
This was the second flight of an Indian carrier that was diverted to Karachi. On July 5, a SpiceJet flight had made a “normal landing” at Jinnah International Airport in Pakistan’s Karachi after an indicator light had malfunctioned. The Delhi to Dubai bound aircraft landed safely at Karachi airport and no emergency was declared, SpiceJet said.
Two days ago, an Indigo flight from Delhi to Vadodara was diverted to Jaipur on Thursday night as a precautionary measure after there were vibrations in the engine. “An Indigo flight 6E-859, operating between Delhi and Vadodara was diverted to Jaipur on 14 July 2022,” an Indigo spokesperson said.
An alternate aircraft was arranged for the onward journey of the passengers. The airline company said that there was a caution message indicated to the pilot enroute. As a precaution, the pilot diverted the aircraft to Jaipur for further checks.
SpiceJet under DGCA radar
Such incidents of technical snags have been increasing in the past few months and SpiceJet has been at the centre of most of them. Pressure is mounting on SpiceJet as the DGCA has given three weeks to the airline to explain why action shouldn’t be taken against it after a series of incidents, including the diversion of flight to Karachi due to an indicator light malfunction.
Also read: SpiceJet occupancy rate high in July despite multiple mishaps
On July 6, SpiceJet released a statement stating that it was “committed to ensuring a safe operation” for its passengers and crew and would respond to the investigation within the time frame specified. The statement came a day after three SpiceJet flights on separate flight routes experienced technical difficulties. On July 5, a technical snag plagued three SpiceJet flights – the one from Delhi to Dubai, the one from Kandla in Gujarat to Mumbai, and the freighter trip from Kolkata to Chongqing in China. In the first week of July, smoke was detected inside a SpiceJet aircraft on the Delhi-Jabalpur SpiceJet flight.
The DGCA had imposed Rs 10 lakh fine on SpiceJet for training 737 Max aircraft’s pilots on a faulty simulator.
