As IndiGo grapples with mass flight cancellations, recently, several Indian news outlets reported that an IndiGo flight, which was travelling from Madinah to Hyderabad, was forced to make an emergency landing in Ahmedabad. This occurred on Thursday, December 4th, following a suspected bomb threat. However, ANI confirmed in its report (as mentioned by the Times of India) that 180 passengers and crew aboard were safe.
Madinah To Hyderabad Flight Diverted To Ahmedabad
This scare comes as several lakhs of passengers across the country are facing unprecedented flight delays. An Economic Times report mentioned that the flight landed safely at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at around 12:30 PM. In fact, all passengers and crew were safely deboarded to conduct a search of the plane. The flight was on its way to Hyderabad from Madinah when the bomb threat email was received, and since Ahmedabad was the closest airport, the pilot decided to land as a precautionary measure, as mentioned in the report. The message was received when the flight was mid-air, and hence it was later diverted to Ahmedabad.
IndiGo Faces Major Disruption
This comes at a time when IndiGo is facing major operational chaos as hundreds of flights are being cancelled. Yes, as a result, lakhs of passengers across the country are facing residential flight delays and cancellations. However, this has happened due to the pilot shortage. As a result, the airlines’ on-time performance has slumped to 35%! Some online videos have claimed that some passengers are even facing 10 hours of waiting at the airport! However, it is expected that these flight cuts may continue for at least 48 hours before the operations stabilise.
Due to this, air fares have surged sharply! It’s worth mentioning that these delays are limited to IndiGo airlines, and the airports are functioning as per normal, with flights landing and taking off as per schedule without any disruption.
Cover Image Courtesy: IndiGo/Website
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