Senior Congress leader and Public Accounts Committee chairman K C Venugopal on Sunday night claimed that an Air India flight carrying him and several other MPs from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi had a near-tragic incident. The airline, meanwhile issued a statement, saying that Air India flight AI2455, flying from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi, was diverted to Chennai on Sunday evening due to a technical issue.
He posted on X, “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 turbulence. About an hour later, the Captain announced a flight signal fault and diverted to Chennai…”
“For nearly two hours, we circled the airport awaiting clearance to land, until a heart-stopping moment during our first attempt — 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.”
“We were saved by skill and luck. Passenger safety cannot depend on luck. I urge @DGCAIndia and @MoCA_GoI to investigate this incident urgently, fix accountability, and ensure such lapses never happen again,” he further added.
What did Air India say?
Air India responded to the Congress leader saying, “We would like to clarify that the diversion to Chennai was precautionary due to a suspected technical issue and poor weather conditions.”
“A go-around was instructed by Chennai ATC (air traffic control) 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,” Air India claimed.
“We understand that such an experience can be unsettling and regret the inconvenience the diversion may have caused to you. However, safety is always our priority,” the airline added.
Air India said, and regretted the inconvenience caused and made alternative arrangements to fly the passengers to their destinations at the earliest,
The flight AI2455, operated with an Airbus A320 aircraft, was airborne for more than two hours, according to information available on the flight tracking website Flightradar24.com. It took off little past 8 pm from Thiruvananthapuram and landed in Chennai at around 10.35 pm.
In recent weeks, there have been instances of some of Air India’s aircraft facing technical snags.
(With inputs from agencies)
