An IndiGo flight from Ayodhya to Delhi on Saturday, April 13, had a close call after it was forced to divert to Chandigarh and landed with barely any fuel left, a passenger has alleged. The incident has sparked safety concerns, with passengers and a retired pilot alleging that IndiGo may have violated Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
IndiGo, however, has clarified that there was sufficient fuel in the aircraft throughout the duration of the flight and all actions taken by the pilot were in line with SOPs.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Satish Kumar, who shared his “harrowing experience” on social media, said that the flight (6E2702) was scheduled to depart Ayodhya at 3:25 PM and arrive in Delhi at 4:30 PM.
However, about 15 minutes before landing, the pilot announced that bad weather in Delhi would prevent them from landing there. The plane hovered over the city and attempted to land twice, but both attempts were unsuccessful, he claimed.
According to Kumar, the pilot informed passengers at 4:15 PM that the plane had 45 minutes of holding fuel. However, after two failed landing attempts and what Kumar described as "wasted time" deciding on a course of action, the pilot finally announced at 5:30 PM, 75 minutes after the holding fuel announcement, that they would divert to Chandigarh.
"By that time, a lot of passengers and one of the crew staff started puking out of panic," Kumar said.
"The plane finally managed to land at Chandigarh Airport at 6:10 PM, 115 minutes after the announcement about having 45 minutes of holding fuel. Got to know after landing that we landed in the nick of time, with only 1 or 2 minutes of fuel left, from the crew staff," he claimed.
Kumar tagged the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Ministry of Civil Aviation in his social media post, questioning whether SOPs were followed and if this was a narrow escape.
Retired pilot Shakti Lumba called the incident a "gross safety violation" by IndiGo and demanded an investigation by the DGCA.
"After two missed approaches, a diversion is mandatory," Lumba wrote on X. "Still holding instead of diverting and then landing allegedly on fumes is a gross safety violation. The Captain has no business being in command if the report is correct."
In a statement, IndiGo said the aircraft always maintained ample fuel reserves to divert as per regulations.
"IndiGo flight 6E 2702 operating between Ayodhya and Delhi on April 13th was diverted to Chandigarh due to bad weather in Delhi. The captain executed a go-around which is in line with the standard operating procedure. This is an absolutely safe maneuver. The aircraft had sufficient fuel at all times to divert to an alternate airport, as per regulations," it said.
Source: India Today