Smoke alarm triggers emergency landing of Air India Express flight in Lucknow – What happened?
Representative image. Photograph: (X/@AirIndiaX)
Air India Express flight IX 1253 from Varanasi to Delhi made an emergency landing in Lucknow after a cargo hold smoke alarm went off. All 155 passengers and crew deboarded safely.
An Air India Express flight carrying 155 passengers and crew members onboard from Varanasi to Delhi made an emergency landing at Lucknow airport on Thursday (Sep 3) morning after a smoke detection alarm reportedly went off in the plane’s cargo hold. According to reports, this prompted the pilot to make an emergency landing at the Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport.
What happened on Air India Express flight?
The incident happened on flight IX 1253, which took off from Varanasi airport at around 8 am on Thursday. However, shortly after taking off, the smoke detection alarm in the cargo hold went off. The pilot immediately contacted the Lucknow Air Traffic Control (ATC) and landed at 8:52 am after receiving clearance. All passengers and crew members deboarded the plane at 9:02 am.
Emergency response teams were present at the airport. Fire brigade personnel and technical experts also reached the spot. An inspection of the aircraft was carried out. Following the initial inspection, no signs of smoke inside the plane were found. The aircraft was moved to the hangar. The authorities have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the smoke alarm.
In a statement, the airline said, “Prioritising safety, the crew operating one of our Varanasi-Delhi flights elected to make a precautionary diversion to Lucknow due to a technical issue.”
It added, “An alternative aircraft is being arranged on priority to connect guests to their destination.”
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The airline did not immediately provide further details about the technical issue or the expected departure time of the replacement aircraft.
The Lucknow diversion comes days after another aviation incident in Uttar Pradesh. On August 19, the tail of an IndiGo aircraft struck the ground while landing at Gorakhpur airport. The pilot subsequently took the aircraft back into the air before landing again after receiving clearance from Air Traffic Control (ATC).
