NEW DELHI: An Air India flight from Tiruvananthapuram to Delhi made an emergency landing at Chennai on Sunday night due to turbulent weather and a technical issue in the flight.
Among the passengers on board were at least four MPs from Kerala.
The flight departed at 8.04 pm from Terminal 3 of Tiruvananthapuram airport and was diverted an hour later to the Chennai International airport, reveals a flight tracking platform.
It was in a holding pattern (circling above and awaiting permission to land) for nearly two hours before it made an aborted landing in the first attempt. It was later able to land safely at 10.39 pm.
In a post on X, AICC General Secretary and Alappuzha MP KC Venugopal said the passengers had a narrow escape. He urged the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MocA) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to immediately investigate the incident.
The MP posted, "Air India flight AI 2455 from Trivandrum to Delhi - carrying myself, several MPs, and hundreds of passengers - came frighteningly close to tragedy today. What began as a delayed departure turned into a harrowing journey. Shortly after take-off, we were hit by unprecedented turbulence. About an hour later, the Captain announced a flight signal fault and diverted to Chennai. For nearly two hours, we circled the airport awaiting clearance to land, until a heart-stopping moment during our first attempt - another aircraft was reportedly on the same runway. In that split second, the Captain’s quick decision to pull up saved every life on board. The flight landed safely on the second attempt."
His post continued, "We were saved by skill and luck. Passenger safety cannot depend on luck. I urge @DGCAIndia and @MoCA_GoI to investigate this incident urgently, fix accountability, and ensure such lapses never happen again."
Responding to his post on X, Air India confirmed the diversion but denied any danger posed by any other aircraft. Its statement read: "We clarify that the diversion to Chennai was precautionary due to a suspected technical issue and poor weather conditions. A go-around was instructed by Chennai ATC during the first attempted landing at Chennai airport, not because of the presence of another aircraft on the runway. Our pilots are well-trained to handle such situations, and in this case, they followed standard procedures throughout the flight."
"We understand that such an experience can be unsettling and regret the inconvenience the diversion may have caused to you. However, safety is always our priority.."
The other MPs on board were Kodikunnil Suresh, Adoor Prakash, and K. Radhakrishnan, reported Kerala-based websites.
The flight landed safely at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport on Monday morning. According to flightavare.com, the flight took off from Chennai at 1.40 am on Monday and reached Delhi at 3.48 am, five hours behind the scheduled time.