Following a mechanical issue, an IndiGo Airbus A320neo made an emergency landing in Karachi. Two hours into the flight from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, to Hyderabad, India, the pilot was obliged to make an emergency landing. Passengers were transferred to a new IndiGo jet, and the original plane returned the following day after a thorough inspection.
Sharjah-bound IndiGo flight 6E1046 departed at 23:15 on Saturday, 20 minutes after schedule and headed for Hyderabad. For the first hour of the three hours and thirty minutes, the plane followed its customary course down the Arabian Sea. A northbound turn to Karachi Airport was made around midnight UAE time.
It landed at Jinnah International Airport (KHI) 38 minutes after taking the turn, and arrived at 02:15 local time. IndiGo has stated that the pilots saw a “technical issue” and decided to detour rather than continue the overwater voyage to Hyderabad as a precautionary measure (HYD).
Read more: Indian airline makes emergency landing in Pakistan
IndiGo swiftly dispatched a replacement plane to Karachi to transport the stranded passengers and crew home, as well as a new crew to rescue the A320neo from the ground. Another A320neo, VT-IZO, departed Ahemdabad at 11:58 local time and arrived in Karachi at 12:30 local time. The flight left at 16:08 and landed at 17:36 local time in Hyderabad.
Overall, the plane arrived 13 hours late (at 04:10 AM) and passengers were stranded for 14 hours in Karachi as they waited for rescue.
IndiGo Airbus A320neo after removal of technical fault left Karachi with passengers of flight 6E1406 to Hyderabad. As Sharjah to Hyderabad passenger flight it had landed in Karachi due to engine problem.
The aircraft and its passengers stayed in Karachi for more than 14 hours. pic.twitter.com/xONyFvNUes
— Pakistan Aviation News 🇵🇰 (@avpak3) July 17, 2022
IndiGo flies SHJ-HYD with an Airbus A320neo operated by VT-IJK on July 16th. According to Planespotters.net, IndiGo took delivery of the 186-seat jet in July of this year. In its three years of service, the plane has not been involved in any major mishaps.
On Sunday, VT-IJK returned to India, arriving in Hyderabad at 16:29 local time, just a few minutes after IndiGo’s rescue flight. The plane has been returned to service and is due to fly commercially again tomorrow after a series of technical inspections.
Read more: Indian Airline, IndiGO, makes an emergency landing in Karachi
An Indian plane landing in Pakistan for the second time in as many weeks attracted attention when IndiGo made an unscheduled detour on Saturday morning. Due to a fuel supply indicator issue, SpiceJet’s Boeing 737 MAX landed in Karachi at the beginning of July. This led to regulatory action against the carrier. There are no direct flights between India and Pakistan because of political concerns, but both countries are permitted to fly in each other’s airspace.