An Indigo flight, numbered 6E2142, en route from Delhi to Srinagar with more than 220 passengers and crew onboard, encountered severe turbulence mid-air on Wednesday due to inclement weather conditions, specifically a hailstorm.
The pilot promptly reported an "emergency" to the Air Traffic Control in Srinagar.
Despite the challenging conditions, the aircraft subsequently landed safely in Srinagar at 6:30 p.m, according to an official from the Airport Authority of India. The official confirmed to news agency PTI that all aircrew and 227 passengers are safe.
The flight has since been declared "Aircraft on Ground" by the airline, indicating that the plane is currently grounded and unable to fly due to technical issues that need to be addressed.
Notably, a hailstorm accompanied by heavy rain with wind speed of 79 kmph lashed Delhi-NCR late Wednesday evening, causing tree felling, waterlogging and traffic jams in many areas, after the city endured a hot and humid day.
Flight operations were hit at the Delhi airport, while Metro passengers on the Yellow Line were stranded for hours.
"Our flight schedules are currently impacted due to the heavy rains and thunderstorm sweeping across Delhi, Chandigarh and Kolkata," IndiGo said in a post on X.
Air India, in a post on X, said rain and thunderstorms may disrupt flights to/from Delhi this evening.
"Due to bad weather (thunderstorm with heavy rain) in Delhi (DEL), all departures/ arrivals and their consequential flights may get affected. Additionally, traffic movement to the airport might be affected due to heavy rains," SpiceJet said in a post on X.
(With inputs from PTI)
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