IndiGo Delhi-Srinagar flight: Pak rejected pilot's request to use its airspace to avoid turbulence
New Delhi/ Mumbai, May 22 (PTI): An IndiGo pilot operating the Delhi-Srinagar flight, which encountered a sudden hailstorm on Wednesday, initially sought Lahore Air Traffic Control's permission to briefly use the Pakistan airspace to avoid the turbulence, but the request was rejected, sources said on Thursday.
The incident of flight 6E 2142 encountering severe turbulence is being probed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the sources said.
The flight, carrying more than 220 people, including Trinamool Congress MPs encountered a sudden hailstorm, and the pilot reported the "emergency" to air traffic control at Srinagar airport. The flight had landed safely on Wednesday.
When the aircraft was overflying Amritsar, the pilot noticed turbulence and sought Lahore Air Traffic Control's (ATC) permission to take a deviation through the Pakistan airspace on Wednesday. The request was made in order to avoid the turbulence, but it was rejected by the Lahore ATC, the sources told PTI.
As a result, the aircraft operated on the original flight path, where it encountered severe turbulence, they added.
In the wake of tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack that killed at least 26 people, Pakistan airspace is closed for Indian carriers. India has also shut its airspace for Pakistan airlines.
In a statement on Thursday, IndiGo said its flight 6E 2142 from Delhi to Srinagar on May 21, 2025, navigated a sudden hailstorm and landed safely at Srinagar International Airport.
"All customers were attended to upon landing and no injuries were reported. The aircraft is currently undergoing necessary inspection and maintenance in Srinagar and will resume operations once all clearances have been secured," the airline said.
A five-member delegation of Trinamool Congress comprising Derek O'Brien, Nadimul Haque, Sagarika Ghose, Manas Bhunia, and Mamata Thakur was on the flight.
"It was a near-death experience. I thought my life was over. People were screaming, praying and panicking," Ghose said on Wednesday.
"Hats off to the pilot who brought us through that. When we landed, we saw the nose of the plane had blown up," she had said, adding that the delegation thanked the pilot after the landing.
Videos of the moments of turbulence emerged on social media showing panicked passengers praying for their lives as the plane swayed.
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Karnataka by-polls: Cong ahead in Bagalkot, BJP leads in Davanagere South
Bengaluru (PTI): Trends show Congress and BJP have maintained leads respectively in Karnataka's Bagalkot and Davanagere South Assembly seats, where counting of votes is underway on Monday, for the bypolls held for two seats on April 9.
The polls were necessitated by the deaths of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti (Bagalkot) and Shamanur Shivashankarappa (Davanagere South).
According to the Election Commission, Congress party's Umesh Meti was ahead of BJP's Veerabhadrayya Charantimath by a margin of 9,969 votes in Bagalkot.
In Davanagere South, BJP's Srinivas T Dasakariyappa was leading over Congress party's Samarth Mallikarjun by a margin of 8,539 votes.
Nine and 25 candidates were in the fray, respectively in the Bagalkot and Davanagere South Assembly segments.
