Guwahati-Chennai IndiGo flight pilot sounds 'mayday' alert, lands plane safely after scare: Report

The Guwahati-Chennai IndiGo flight was allegedly diverted due to congestion at the Chennai airport which prevented the plane from landing in time.

Updated on: Jun 22, 2025, 08:31:43 IST

By HT News Desk

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An IndiGo flight, travelling from Guwahati to Chennai on Thursday with 168 passengers, was diverted to Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport. In a massive scare, the pilot sounded a mayday alert before landing safely in Bengaluru. The incident took place days after an Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad, killing at least 270 people, including 241 passengers and crew.

An IndiGo flight issued a 'fuel mayday' distress call after it was forced to divert from Chennai to Bengaluru (REUTERS)

IndiGo Airlines has not issued a statement on the matter.

Also Read: Delhi-Leh flight returns to IGI 2 hours after take-off due to technical issues

The flight's emergency landing occurred due to congestion at the Chennai airport, which prevented the plane from landing on time. The flight landed in Bengaluru at 8:15 pm on June 19. Both pilots of the flight were de-rostered, reported NDTV.

Also Read: IndiGo flight from Delhi to Srinagar diverted to Chandigarh due to bad weather

The pilot of the flight attempted to land at Chennai airport around 7:45 pm, but aborted the landing attempt and decided to head towards Bengaluru. Around 35 minutes ahead of landing at Bengaluru's Kempegowda airport, the pilot signalled a distress call due to insufficient fuel, reported The Times of India.

Also Read: ‘IndiGo flight from Delhi landed in Raipur but door didn’t open for 30 minutes’

TOI reported citing sources that after receiving the distress call, air traffic control, fire and medical services were mobilized and the plane landed safely around 8:15 pm.

A passenger reportedly said that the plane, after attempting to land in Chennai, had taken a sudden and steep approach, which left many of them “on edge.”

On Friday, another Indigo flight, headed to Madurai, flew back to Chennai after a mid-air snag. After flying for about half an hour, the pilot of the Indigo Airlines flight detected the issue and sought permission to fly back to Chennai and land. The plane carrying about 68 passengers landed safely.

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HT News Desk
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