An IndiGo flight from Guwahati to Chennai, carrying 168 passengers, had to make an emergency landing in Bengaluru on Thursday after the pilots sent out a mayday alert due to running low on fuel. According to sources, the flight couldn’t land in Chennai because the airport was too congested, which delayed their arrival and left the aircraft with critically low fuel levels. The pilots have been taken off duty while the incident is being looked into.
Flight 6E-6764, an Airbus A321, took off from Guwahati at 4:40 pm and tried to land in Chennai around 7:45 pm. But when it wasn’t allowed to land right away, the pilot had to circle around. Eventually, the aircraft diverted to Bengaluru and landed safely at 8:20 pm. Airport emergency teams, including medical and fire services, were ready on the ground as a precaution.
This near miss came just days after a tragic accident involving an Air India Dreamliner flight to London that crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad on June 12. That flight also issued a mayday call before crashing into nearby homes and bursting into flames.
Adding to the series of worrying events, another IndiGo flight bound for Madurai experienced a technical problem mid-air on Friday and returned to Chennai. That plane, which had about 68 people on board, landed safely and everyone was deplaned without incident.
