Flying with low-fuel leading to a ‘Mayday’ distress call has caused de-rostering of a Vistara pilot by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. On Monday, the pilot operating Vistara’s flight from Mumbai to Delhi issued a Mayday call after the flight couldn’t land at Delhi airport and had to be diverted to Lucknow where it landed with barely any fuel. After deciding to divert to Lucknow, the pilot decided to further divert to Prayagraj due to prevalent conditions at Lucknow airport. Ultimately, however, the flight was landed with low-fuel at Lucknow. A Vistara spokesperson said: “Flight UK944 operating Mumbai-Delhi on 15 July 2019 initiated a diversion to Lucknow due to bad weather over Delhi. However, over Lucknow, the visibility suddenly dropped and a safe landing was not possible . The unexpected drop in visibility at the destination alternate was the main reason why the aircraft ended up in a low-fuel situation despite carrying excess fuel over and above the required flight plan fuel as per regulations .”.
