A Delhi-Manchester flight operated by IndiGo made an unexpected U-turn mid-air; the reason for the diversion was not immediately known. This came after IndiGo resumed its European flight operation after more than a week’s gap. The flight took a turn near the Ethiopian border on Monday. Read on to know the reason behind it.
Delhi-Manchester IndiGo Flight Takes A U-Turn Mid-Air
As per a report by The Indian Express, IndiGo Flight 6E033 departed from Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi at 12:30 am on Monday and was en route to Manchester in the United Kingdom. The flight, operated using a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, reached close to the airspace near the border of Ethiopia before turning around mid-flight, as per the flight tracking data. Later, the aircraft returned to Indian airspace and landed back in Delhi at 2:30 p.m. The whole journey took almost 14 hours, during which the aircraft was forced to return to Delhi.
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Why Did The Flight Return Mid-Journey?
Sunday, March 8, was the first day of IndiGo’s partial resumption of flights to Europe after a halt of more than a week. The flight is currently using a longer route over Africa to avoid the Gulf region. According to a report by The Hindu, all of its European services had been grounded until now, as the Boeing 787-8 aircraft leased from Norse falls under the jurisdiction of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). As per the advisory issued on February 28 by EASA, barring its carriers from flying over eleven countries in West Asia following the ongoing conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran.
The diversion took place due to confusion over the aircraft’s operating arrangements. The aircraft that are being used on the European routes are not directly owned by IndiGo but are leased from Norse.
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Once overflight permits are obtained by the marketing carrier, which is IndiGo, they should also state the carrier’s name under which the aircraft is registered, which happens to be Norse, in this case. Due to the confusion, air traffic authorities in Eritrea asked the aircraft to take a U-turn back to the Indian airspace.
The diversion and delay in flights are due to the ongoing conflict. Let us know what your thoughts are in the comments below!
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