Pak Rejected IndiGo Pilot's Request To Use Its Airspace To Avoid Turbulence: Report
New Delhi/ Mumbai:
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's 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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
20 minutes ago
- Time of India
India looking for other magnet sources after China's curbs on rare earth metals
India is in talks with China on ensuring the supply of permanent magnets derived from rare earth minerals but is also working on 'alternate sources' for the critical components, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said. He said the government is in constant touch with Indian industry to speed up the development of local sources. China, which controls 90% of the supply of rare earth magnets, has imposed curbs on supplies. These magnets are essential inputs in the manufacturing of cars, electric vehicles and renewable energy equipment, among others. 'There is a concern... our embassy is in dialogue with them (China)... commerce and industry ministry is also working,' Goyal said, adding that the government had already begun work on developing alternate sources. 'Hope Good Sense Prevails' Goyal was speaking to reporters after his interaction with local industry in Bern. "In a way, it's a wake-up call for all those who have become over-reliant on certain geographies. It's a wake-up call for the whole world that you need trusted partners in your supply chain,' the minister said. Auto industry and other industry bodies have represented the matter to the government seeking an early resolution of the problem. China had in April mandated special export licences for seven rare earth elements and related magnets. It is seeking an undertaking that permanent magnets it supplies will not be re-exported to the US, nor will they find applications in the defence industry. ET reported on June 4 that nine auto component manufacturers have received endorsement from the Chinese embassy in India for importing critical rare earth magnets, but supply has not resumed as the neighbouring country's commerce ministry has not given its nod. "Obviously, there are issues around the stopping of permanent magnets from China to India, which will affect our auto sector, particularly, and several white goods and other sectors. Some companies have put in their applications, and we hope that good sense prevails and they get their approvals for permanent magnets," the minister said. The Centre is also looking to Indian Rare Earths Ltd to speed up the development of domestic resources, Goyal said. Asked if the government will consider a production-linked incentive scheme for these magnets, Goyal said he had discussed the matter with the auto industry and was confident of resolving the matter. "They are in dialogue with our innovators, startups and they say they will take care of any funding requirement or pricing correction that may need to encourage faster rollout and growth of this sector," Goyal said. On alternative sources, the minister said these could also be some technologies that India is developing. "The government, the industry and startups and innovators are all working as a team and we are confident that there may be a problem in the short run but we will emerge winners in the mid to long runs," he said. (The reporter is in Bern at the invitation of the ministry of commerce & industry)
New Indian Express
27 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
New frontlines of terrorism and the Pakistan equation
For decades, the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir has served as the visible boundary between war and peace, infiltration and prevention, terror and counter-terror. It has also been the default focal point of Indian military strategy and Pakistan's proxy hybrid war, primarily kinetic. However, in 2025, the paradigm is shifting quite drastically. The LoC, while still active, and the kinetic domain in general, may no longer be the main front in the battle for Kashmir's stability. Instead, the new war fronts are dispersed, amorphous, and dangerously embedded within the digital, psychological, and ideological landscape. This is the classic grey zone strategy that has been long expected to manifest. At the heart of this shift lies a question with major implications for India's internal security calculus: Does Pakistan still hold remote control over Kashmir's terrorism? Recent indicators suggest that Pakistan's ability to infiltrate terrorists across the LoC physically has been severely degraded. Better fencing, aggressive patrolling, a robust counter-infiltration posture, and enhanced surveillance capabilities—both aerial and electronic—have reduced large-scale infiltration to a trickle. The classical model of launching fidayeen squads, guiding them across the Pir Panjal, and sustaining them with local overground workers is not easily feasible in most sectors. Yet, this does not mean that the threat has receded. Instead, the theatre has simply moved.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Probe launched against Tripura Cong leader for ‘defaming' CM
Agartala: Police on Monday launched a search against Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) spokesperson Md Sahajan Islam for alleged defaming narratives and expressions against chief minister Manik Saha on Sunday night in a Facebook live. The officer-in-charge of East Agartala police station, Rana Chatterjee, said Sahajan's deliberation has triggered political unrest and hurt the communal sentiment of the people. He had made derogatory comments on the professional and personal life of the CM that is completely illegal. "Indian law doesn't permit the citizen to make a personal attack on the head of a state," Chatterjee said, adding that a specific case has been registered against Islam, who is absconding, based on a complaint and police have also launched an investigation. He allegedly made several posts on social media in communal lines alleging that saffron cadres obstructed the celebration of Bakri Eid in several locations of the state, and in a few places, they stopped the transportation of cows.
