Mumbai flight from Kochi makes emergency landing at Goa

GoAir G8 345, which takes off at around 7.40pm from Kochi, left after a delay of around 40 minutes and then made an emergency landing at Goa around 9.10pm

Technical snag forced a flight from Kochi that was headed to Delhi via Mumbai make an emergency landing at Goa on Wednesday night.

GoAir G8 345, which takes off at around 7.40pm from Kochi, left after a delay of around 40 minutes and then made an emergency landing at Goa around 9.10pm. (FILE)

GoAir G8 345, which takes off at around 7.40pm from Kochi, left after a delay of around 40 minutes and then made an emergency landing at Goa around 9.10pm.

Go Air Spokesperson said, “August 30th, GoAir flight G8345 (Kochi - Mumbai) flight was diverted to Goa due to technical snag. All passengers (166) deplaned safely and were subsequently flown to Mumbai early this morning (31st Aug) to Mumbai by an alternate GoAir aircraft. GoAir apologises for the inconvenience caused to its esteemed customers.”

The aircraft in use was A320neo that has been creating engine issues for not only GoAir but also for Indigo. GoAir has grounded two aircraft due to engine issues.

Currently Indigo, GoAir and Air India possess A320neo. After these aircraft were grounded due to engine-related issues, aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), a week before had spoken to the engine makers Pratt & Whitney about the problem.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the company said: ‘The GoAir A320neo that diverted to Goa, India on August 30 was powered by Pratt & Whitney engines. Pratt & Whitney is working with GoAir to assess the situation’.

Indigo had grounded 50% of its A320neo after engine problems.

Last week, a Ahmedabad-Kolkata flight had to be diverted to Nagpur after an engine stopped working mid-air. The engines for A320neo are made by Pratt & Whitney.

Last week, in a reply to HT’s query on the engine malfunctions, the company’s spokesperson had issued this statement: “We are aware of recent reports regarding the -powered Airbus A320neo fleet. As we have communicated previously, the durability of the engine’s entry-into-service configuration is being improved. We understand that the issues experienced to date have disrupted our customers’ operations. We are working hand-in-hand with them on a daily basis to address their in-service fleet issues.”