A Mayday call signaling a life-threatening emergency was made after one of the pilots of a Doha-Bengaluru IndiGo flight became incapacitated, prompting its diversion to Oman's Muscat on Thursday. Officials said the pilot required urgent medical attention and that flight 6E 1302 landed safely in Muscat, where a medical team attended to the affected crew member.
“The pilot became incapacitated during the flight, and a Mayday emergency was declared,” an official said. It was not immediately clear whether the Airbus A320neo aircraft's first officer (co-pilot) or the pilot-in-command needed medical attention.
In a statement, IndiGo said the crew member is feeling better now. It added that an alternate aircraft and a new crew were arranged for the flight from Muscat to Bengaluru. The passengers were being provided refreshments and regular updates in Muscat, it said. “We regret the inconvenience caused to our customers and are making all efforts to minimise it,” the statement said. It added that the safety of passengers, crew and aircraft remained its top priority.
6E 1302 was diverted to Muscat two days after a Goa-Delhi IndiGo flight made an emergency landing hours after take-off. A person aware of the matter said the issue was related to one of the engines, even as IndiGo has not confirmed it. It was the second IndiGo flight to face an engine snag in the past month.
{{/usCountry}}6E 1302 was diverted to Muscat two days after a Goa-Delhi IndiGo flight made an emergency landing hours after take-off. A person aware of the matter said the issue was related to one of the engines, even as IndiGo has not confirmed it. It was the second IndiGo flight to face an engine snag in the past month.
{{/usCountry}}On August 11, a Kolkata-Chennai flight made a priority landing after declaring an emergency when its left engine developed problems on approach.
Also Read: Full emergency briefly declared at Chennai airport after left engine issue on IndiGo flight
HT on Wednesday reported that "serious findings" were reported as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) conducted safety audits of four major airlines ahead of a US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) assessment of India’s civil aviation regulator oversight scheduled between November 16 and 20.
The DGCA completed the safety audits in August, three months before a five-member FAA team will visit India. Under the DGCA’s audit framework, Level-1 findings relate to a more serious category of non-compliance and require immediate corrective action, and Level-2 to less serious deficiencies requiring corrective measures within a prescribed timeframe.
The FAA performs air traffic control handoffs and assesses whether a foreign civil aviation authority complies with international aviation standards. The FAA last conducted an assessment in India in 2021. India currently holds Category 1 status under the FAA’s International Aviation Safety Assessment programme.
The 2026 review comes against the backdrop of a series of incidents and operational problems over the past year, including the June 2025 Air India flight crash in Ahmedabad, which killed 260 people, and IndiGo's operational disruption in December 2025.