New Delhi: An Air India Express aircraft travelling from Bagdogra to Delhi was forced into an emergency landing at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport on Tuesday. The diversion occurred after a smoke alarm was triggered mid-flight, prompting an immediate safety response.
As reported by PTI the aircraft was an Airbus A320 (flight IX1523) and was carrying a total of 148 passengers when the crew noticed smoke emanating from the avionics bay. After recognising the severity of the situation, the pilot reacted immediately and issued a “Mayday” call which in the international standard means a life-threatening distress signal to ensure priority landing at the nearest available runway this time Lucknow.
Soon the Air Traffic Control (ATC) in Lucknow was alerted about the diversion and a safe landing was made around 5:18 pm. After the safe landing all passengers were evacuated safely, with no injuries reported.
‘Aircraft on ground’
Following the incident, the plane was declared “Aircraft on Ground” (AOG) which is a technical term indicating the aircraft is grounded due to a fault and requires immediate inspection and repair before it can fly again. To prioritise passenger safety, travellers were shifted to alternate flights. Some received full refunds, while others were provided hotel accommodations and rebooked on later flights.
Reaction from Air India
An Air India Express spokesperson later confirmed the incident and said, “Prioritising safety, the crew operating one of our flights to Delhi elected to divert to Lucknow and carried out a priority landing following a smoke alert. The aircraft landed safely and all guests were provided refreshments on arrival. They were subsequently re-accommodated on alternative flights to Delhi. We regret the inconvenience.”
For now, the aircraft is parked at the Lucknow airport and will remain there until it gets back to fully operational condition.