Indigo flight 6E-6764 operating from Guwahati to Chennai on Thursday made an emergency landing at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru after the pilot announced a ‘fuel mayday’. The aircraft (Airbus A321) departed Guwahati at 4.40 pm and attempted to land in Chennai around 7.45 pm but had to abort due to insufficient fuel, prompting the pilot to issue a ‘fuel mayday’ alert. It landed in Bengaluru at 8.15 pm, with all 168 passengers evacuated safely. The incident triggered fresh aviation safety concerns, following closely on the heels of the UK-bound Air India flight crash near Ahmedabad airport last week. Although Indigo has not issued any official statement, sources in the airline company told The Indian Express that the flight encountered a fuel emergency after being denied landing at Chennai airport due to air traffic congestion. “Since the flight did not receive clearance to land at Chennai due to congestion and was flying at low fuel, the pilot announced a fuel mayday as per the protocol, and the aircraft was diverted to Bengaluru. The Bengaluru ATC (Air Traffic Control) gave a priority landing, and the flight landed safely at 8.15 pm. Contrary to some reports, the pilot did not announce a mayday, instead a fuel mayday, which is different,” said a source from the airline company. “Post landing, passengers were deboarded without reported injuries and were given refreshments at the airport, as per protocol,” the source added. The aircraft was refuelled and took off with a new crew and 168 passengers to Chennai at around 10.30 pm. “Since the Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) of the crew lapsed, a new crew took over the flight as per protocol and took off to Chennai at around 10.24 pm,” said the source. The incident comes a day after another Indigo flight, headed to Madurai, flew back to Chennai after a mid-air snag. After flying for about half an hour, the pilot detected the issue and sought permission to fly back to Chennai. The plane carrying about 68 passengers landed safely.
