‘Harrowing journey’: Congress’s K C Venugopal as Trivandrum-Delhi Air India flight with MPs diverted midway

In a social media post on X, Venugopal, who was on board, said the journey “came frighteningly close to tragedy.”

“What began as a delayed departure turned into a harrowing journey. Shortly after take-off, we were hit by unprecedented turbulence. About an hour later, the Captain announced a flight signal fault and diverted to Chennai,” Venugopal wrote.

Air India flight AI 2455 from Trivandrum to Delhi – carrying myself, several MPs, and hundreds of passengers – came frighteningly close to tragedy today.

What began as a delayed departure turned into a harrowing journey. Shortly after take-off, we were hit by unprecedented…

— K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) August 10, 2025

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The aircraft circled the airport for nearly two hours before attempting to land, but aborted the first attempt after another aircraft was reportedly on the same runway. “In that split second, the Captain’s quick decision to pull up saved every life on board. The flight landed safely on the second attempt,” Venugopal wrote.

“We were saved by skill and luck. Passenger safety cannot depend on luck,” the MP from Kerala’s Alappuzha said, urging the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Ministry of Civil Aviation to investigate the incident, fix accountability, and ensure such lapses never happen again.

The airline spokesperson said the flight landed safely in Chennai, where the aircraft will undergo the necessary checks.

“We regret the inconvenience caused to the affected passengers. Our colleagues on the ground in Chennai are extending support to the passengers to minimise it and are making alternative arrangements to fly the passengers to their respective destinations at the earliest. At Air India, the safety of our passengers and crew remains top priority,” the spokesperson added.

The flight took off a little past 8 pm from Thiruvananthapuram and landed in Chennai at 10.35 pm, as per information from Flightradar24.com.

In recent weeks, there have been instances of some of Air India’s aircraft facing technical snags.

In a response to the Congress leader, Air India on X said, “A go-around was instructed by Chennai ATC during the first attempted landing at Chennai airport, not because of the presence of another aircraft on the runway. Our pilots are well-trained to handle such situations, and in this case, they followed standard procedures throughout the flight.”