AirAsia flight loses contact with ATC, lands safely in Bengaluru: Report
An AirAsia flight lost contact with the ground staff at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport minutes before landing on Monday but finally could land safely in Bengaluru as the pilots switched to an alternative mode of communication. All passengers were unharmed.
A major crisis was averted in Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) as an AirAsia flight lost contact with Air Traffic Control (ATC) merely minutes before landing, but established an alternative way of communication and landed safely, with all 160 passengers aboard unharmed and unaware of the incident. The incident reportedly took place on Monday.
A Bengaluru-bound AirAsia flight lost contact with the ATC minutes before landing, however all passengers were unharmed as the plane landed safely. (Handout photo)
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A report by The Times of India said contact snapping at times of landing is extremely rare and pilots are provided with alternative channels for radio contact with ground staff at all times in case of such glitches.
The incident happened at around 7 pm on Monday when the flight, coming from Delhi, experienced a communication cut when it was about 16 kilometres away from the Bengaluru airport.
It is not yet known why the communication could have snapped. However, pilots took swift action by switching to the alternative channel as it was crucial for them to know the weather conditions on the ground and the wind speed before landing.
The ATC has reportedly raised an incident report and a probe has been initiated into the matter. According to reports, switching to alternative channels for radio contact with ATC in these instances of communication failure is a standard procedure and the incident cannot be termed as alarming unless this second option also fails to work.
Yamini CS is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with nearly six years of experience in digital journalism. She is part of the India News desk, where she works on a wide range of stories cutting across civic issues, city-based developments, politics, governance, public policy, breaking news, trending topics, and international affairs that have an impact on India. Her role involves tracking fast-moving developments, verifying information from official and on-ground sources, and presenting news in a clear, accessible format for a digital-first audience. A significant part of her work includes handling live blogs during major news events, such as elections, court verdicts, political developments, civic disruptions, protests, weather-related alerts, and unfolding national or international incidents. Through live coverage, she focuses on timely updates to help readers follow complex stories as they evolve. Before moving to the broader India News desk, Yamini was associated with the Bengaluru desk at Hindustan Times, where she extensively covered urban governance, infrastructure, traffic and transport issues, weather events, public grievances, and civic administration in the city. This experience strengthened her grounding in city reporting and sharpened her focus on citizen-centric journalism. She began her career as a correspondent with Reuters after completing a postgraduate diploma in journalism from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media. Her early training instilled a strong emphasis on accuracy, sourcing, and news ethics, which continue to shape her reporting style. Outside of work, Yamini enjoys reading across genres, listening to music, and spending time with her family, which help her maintain balance in a fast-paced newsroom environment.
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