A Fly91 Airline flight from Hyderabad to Hubballi was forced to remain airborne for several hours on Sunday after encountering bad weather near its destination.
According to a report by Times Now, the aircraft was unable to land as scheduled and had to circle in the air before being diverted, leading to concern among passengers and their families.
The flight, IC3401, operated by Fly91, departed from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at around 3 p.m. It was scheduled to land in Hubballi by 4:30 p.m.
However, as the aircraft approached Hubballi, it encountered adverse weather conditions, forcing the pilots to abort the landing.
According to reports, the aircraft continued to remain in the air for hours, circling across multiple regions including Mundgod, Davanagere and Shivamogga.
After repeated attempts to manage the situation, the flight was eventually diverted to Kempegowda International Airport, where it landed safely at around 7:30 p.m.
Passengers onboard experienced distress during the extended period in the air. Several passengers were reportedly anxious, with some praying and expressing fear as the situation remained uncertain for a prolonged duration. Meanwhile, in a statement, Fly91 addressed the incident and denied reports suggesting any technical issue.
The airline said, "the flight IC3401 flying from Hyderabad to Hubballi did not develop any technical snag as is being reported in some sections of the media.”
Speaking about the diversion, the statement read, “the flight departed from Hyderabad at 15.00 hours. On nearing Hubballi, the flight encountered bad weather, due to which the flight was diverted to Bengaluru as per standard protocol. The flight subsequently returned to Hubballi and back to its home base in Hyderabad.”
“There was zero compromise to safety. Holding the aircraft over Hubballi and diverting to Bengaluru was part of the standard operating procedure. This is among the best practices adopted by the industry," it added.
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