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New Delhi: On Saturday, April 13, an IndiGo flight from Ayodhya to Delhi was grounded after it had to divert to Chandigarh with barely any fuel left. The incident has raised safety concerns, with passengers and a retired pilot alleging that IndiGo violated standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Passenger 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 said.
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.”
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.”
Social media users have pointed out that flight radar data appears to show only one missed approach and go-around, followed by a cancelled second approach and immediate diversion to Chandigarh.
IndiGo is yet to issue a statement on the alleged incident.
