New Delhi: In a frightful experience, passengers and crew aboard an IndiGo flight from Ayodhya to Delhi on Saturday faced a chilling experience after it was forced to divert to Chandigarh due to low fuel levels, according to a passenger.
Taking it to X, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Satish Kumar, who shared his "harrowing experience" on social media, stated that the flight (6E2702) was scheduled to depart Ayodhya at 3:25 pm and arrive in Delhi at 4:30 pm.
However, just about 15 minutes before the scheduled landing, the pilot announced that due to bad weather in Delhi, they wouldn't be able to land there, he said.
"Had a harrowing experience yesterday with @IndiGo6E Flight No. 6E2702 from Ayodhya to Delhi. Scheduled departure time 3:25 p.m. and schedule arrival time 4:30 p.m. Around 4:15 p.m. the pilot announced that there’s bad weather at @DelhiAirport. and assured that the plane has 45 minutes of Holding Fuel (sic)", he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"The pilot attempted landing twice, couldn’t due to bad weather and still wasted lot of time deciding the next course of action. At 5:30 p.m. (after a lapse of 75 minutes since the Holding fuel announcement) the pilot announced that he’ll finally attempt landing at Chandigarh. By that time lot of passengers and one of the crew staff started puking out of panic. Finally, the plane managed to land at 6:10 p.m. at Chandigarh Airport after a lapse of 115 minutes since the 45 minutes Holding fuel announcement. Got to know after landing that we’ve landed in the nick of time with only 1 or 2 minutes of fuel left from the crew staff", he added.
Urging the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), he said, "What an ordeal it was for the passengers @DGCA @MoCA_GoI kindly enquire if all SOPs were followed or was it the narrowest escape? (sic)"
IndiGo Airlines released a statement stating that “standard operating procedure" was followed during the flight's diversion to Chandigarh.
"IndiGo flight 6E 2702 operating between Ayodhya and Delhi on April 13 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 manoeuvre. The aircraft had sufficient fuel at all times to divert to an alternate airport, as per regulations," the IndiGo Spokesperson said.
When ETV Bharat asked for a comment from DGCA, the messages remained unanswered.
