Near-collision averted at Delhi airport as Afghan airline flight lands on wrong runway

The Ariana Afghan Airlines A310 aircraft, operating flight FG-311 from Kabul to Delhi, was cleared to land on runway 29L.

Published on: Nov 24, 2025, 15:07:14 IST

By HT News Desk

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A major aviation incident was averted at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, when an Ariana Afghan Airlines flight from Kabul mistakenly landed on a runway in use by another aircraft, officials said.

The incident occurred on Sunday and a probe has been launched into the matter. (Unsplash)

The incident occurred on Sunday and a probe has been launched into the matter. The Ariana Afghan Airlines A310 aircraft, operating flight FG-311 from Kabul to Delhi, was cleared to land on runway 29L. However, it touched down on runway 29R instead, a senior DGCA official told news agency PTI.

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According to the pilot-in-command (PIC), the aircraft lost the Instrument Landing System (ILS) signal at about 4 nautical miles from the runway. As a result, the plane turned slightly to the right and landed visually on 29R. The PIC added that the ILS systems malfunctioned after the Final Approach Fix, which marks the start of the final approach segment during an instrument landing.

The ILS is a precision radio navigation system that helps aircraft land safely in poor visibility, at night, or during bad weather. In this case, the pilot reported that the failure of the ILS guidance, combined with low visibility, caused the aircraft to deviate unintentionally from its intended path.

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As per the PIC, he lost ILS at 4NM and the aircraft turned right, after which the captain landed with visual approach on RWY 29R, the DGCA official said, adding the ATC confirmed FG 311 was given landing clearance for RWY 29L and the captain also acknowledged he had clearance for RWY 29L only.

"Due to poor visibility and the failure of the ILS guidance, the aircraft unintentionally deviated from the intended approach path. We were not advised by Delhi tower of any deviation during the approach," the PIC was quoted as saying by PTI.

After landing, the pilot said he "noticed that he had landed at runway 29R," according to the official.

"The runway deviation occurred as a result of the ILS system failure and the associated loss of lateral guidance in low-visibility," the PIC said.

The DGCA official said it was not clear whether there was an issue with ILS system of the aircraft.

(With inputs from PTI)

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