Photo only illustrative. stock photo
New Delhi, July 17
Two foreign flights of Indian airlines have been diverted to a third country as a precaution following new technical incidents of flight concern in the past 24 hours.
Following a series of such incidents, aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia held an assembly on protection issues with senior officials from his ministry and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Fear in the air
July 17: IndiGo’s Sharjah-Hyderabad flight is diverted to Karachi after pilots had a defect in one of the engines.
July 16: AI Express Calicut-Dubai flight diverts to Muscat after a cabin fire
July 15: A bird is discovered in the cockpit of AI Express’ Bahrain-Kochi flight
July 14: IndiGo’s Delhi-Vadodara flight makes an emergency landing in Jaipur after an engine vibration
The Minister reported in detail the incidents that occurred during the last month. We are informed that he told the DGCA and officials in his branch to ensure that there is no commitment to the protection of passengers. On Sunday, cheap airline IndiGo’s Sharjah-Hyderabad flight was diverted to Karachi in Pakistan after pilots observed a defect in one of the engines. On Saturday night, Air India Express’ Calicut-Dubai flight was diverted to Muscat in Oman after a burning smell was detected in the flight deck. A day earlier, a live bird was discovered in the cockpit of Air India Express’ Bahrain-Kochi flight. The DGCA was informed how to investigate the incidents, authorities said.
For IndiGo, an airline whose maintenance staff is supposedly not satisfied with payment issues, this is the technical incident at the time in the last 4 days. Official resources said the 125 passengers on board the plane were taken to the transit corridor at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport and earned Refreshments. The timing of the aircraft’s engine had developed a problem, they said. Passengers had to spend about 10 hours before boarding another flight.
On Thursday, IndiGo’s Delhi-Vadodara flight made an unscheduled stop in Jaipur after one-second vibrations were noticed in the plane’s engines.
IndiGo’s maintenance issues are being examined after a significant number of its maintenance technicians withdrew over health issues last week to protest “low wages. “
Civil Aviation Chief Executive Arun Kumar, responding to questions from The Tribune, said that “the challenge of the technicians has been solved. “He described it as a “minor” challenge. During the hijacking of the Sharjah-Hyderabad flight to Karachi, Kumar said it was a “preventive” landing of the plane.
SpiceJet is already a regulatory scanner. On July 6, the DGCA sent a statement of justification to the airline following at least 8 incidents of technical malfunction of its aircraft since June 19.
The Tribune has two sister publications, the Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and dainik Tribune (in Hindi).