Flight issues ‘mayday' call after almost running out of fuel during diversion in India
The pilot of an Indian passenger jet was forced to issue a 'mayday' call after almost running out of fuel, according to Indian media reports.
IndiGo flight 6764 left Guwahati in the northeastern state of Assam at 4.40pm on Thursday and was heading for Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu in southern India, where it was due to arrive at 7.45pm.
The plane failed to land at Chennai, however, and was instead sent to Bengaluru in the neighbouring southern state of Karnataka, 300km away from its intended destination, where it landed at 8.15pm. All 168 passengers were deboarded safely, with no injuries reported.
Accounts of the reason for the diversion differed, with news channel NDTV quoting an IndiGo spokesperson as saying it was due to 'bad weather'. 'The flight was scheduled to arrive in Chennai at about 7.45pm, but due to bad weather in Chennai, it could not land. The pilot opted to divert the flight to Bengaluru, but realised they ran out of fuel. So, he alerted the airport with a mayday call," the spokesperson was quoted as saying.
The Indian Express reported that the pilot was denied landing at Chennai International airport because of air traffic congestion, which led the pilot to divert the aircraft to Bengaluru.
'Since the flight did not receive clearance to land at Chennai due to congestion and was flying at low fuel, the pilot announced a fuel mayday as per the protocol, and the aircraft was diverted to Bengaluru. The Bengaluru Air Traffic Control (ATC) gave a priority landing, and the flight landed safely at 8.15pm,' a source from IndiGo told the newspaper.
'Contrary to some reports, the pilot did not announce a mayday, instead a fuel mayday, which is different. Post landing, passengers were deboarded without reported injuries and were given refreshments at the airport, as per protocol.'
According to a report by the Times of India, the pilot attempted a 'go around' after the landing gear touched the runway, and made the 'mayday call' when it was around 56km from Bengaluru's Kempegowda International airport. Citing a source, the newspaper reported that the aircraft appeared to have an 'unstabilised approach'.
Several sources at the ATC confirmed to the Times of India that the pilot did not attempt a second approach at Chennai and flew to Bengaluru.
The Independent has reached out to IndiGo for comment.
The aircraft was refuelled at Bengaluru and finally took off with a new crew and all passengers at around 10.24pm, since the crew's flight duty time had lapsed by then. The passengers finally arrived in Chennai at 11pm.
India's aviation sector has been under intense scrutiny in recent weeks amid a series of safety and operational incidents that have raised serious concerns. Earlier this month a London-bound Air India flight crashed shortly after take-off in Ahmedabad, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. Days later, the airline was issued a stern warning by India's aviation safety watchdog over breaches of pilot duty‑time regulations during long‑haul flights.
On Friday, passengers from two Air India Express flights landed in Patna to find that their baggage had not arrived. Recently, an IndiGo flight arriving in Raipur from New Delhi was delayed on the tarmac after a door malfunction left passengers trapped onboard for nearly 40 minutes.
According to data shared by India's civil aviation ministry, private airlines in India reported 268 instances involving technical issues with aircraft over the 13 months leading up to January 2025. IndiGo – India's largest airline by market share – accounted for 118 of these incidents, while Air India reported 66.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
This disgusting Netflix documentary will put you off cruises for life
Sure, you've had bad holidays. The one where it rained every day. That time the airline lost your luggage and you had to spend 48 hours wearing the same pants. But have you ever been forced to spend four days defecating into a plastic bag on a cruise ship that just caught fire and is now adrift in the Gulf of Mexico? That was the fate of 4,200 people aboard the Carnival Triumph, and the story is retold to hilarious effect in Trainwreck: Poop Cruise (Netflix). It's a terrible title and a gross subject but it's one of the funniest documentaries I've seen in ages. British director James Ross was Bafta-nominated a few years back for a serious film about Anton Ferdinand and racism. Here he demonstrates a flair for comedy, stitching together the recollections of passengers and crew. They are well-chosen and well-edited, including three friends who were on a hen weekend – the vibe is very Bridesmaids – and a man who was on holiday with his father-in-law for the first time, desperate to impress. The crew members include a droll Indian chef and a British cruise director called Jen. It was Jen who issued a chirpy, Hi-de-Hi message over the tannoy after the ship ran into trouble: 'When you do need to do a number one, you can do it in the shower. And if you need to do a number two, we're going to deliver some red bags – we ask that you please do it in the red bag and drop it off in the bins in the corridors.' The contributors run through their reactions to that directive: 'You want me to do what?' 'I'm not doing that.' 'What world are we living in?' Here's what happened: midway through a cruise from Texas to Mexico in 2013, a fire broke out in the Triumph's engine room. It caused the power to cut out, which not only plunged the ship into darkness but caused the toilets to stop flushing. Guests were told that they'd be towed back to Cozumel the following day. But the ship drifted out of Mexican waters and it was four days before they eventually made it to port in Mobile, Alabama. Phone footage helps to build up a picture of life on board: a tent city of mattresses dragged up on deck and shaded by bedsheets, two-hour queues for food rations, fights over the last available deckchair. 'Ha!' says a Russian bartender. 'Now all these Americans can feel what it was like in dictatorship countries where s--- like this happens and it doesn't surprise anyone. Welcome to the Soviet Union, people!' But it's those red bags that haunt everyone. And it's the winning honesty of the contributors that makes this documentary a gem. The Russian crew member cheerfully admits that she was in bed with one of the engineers when the fire alarm went off. The bridal party were sleeping off hangovers after overdoing it in Mexico ('We left our dignity in Mexico'). Some, like the chap on holiday with his father-in-law, were determined to hang on to their dignity. For others, it was impossible. The men could pee overboard but the women had to crouch in the shower, using the flashing beacon light from a life jacket as illumination. 'This is my first cruise,' says a member of the hen party, 'but I don't think this is normal.' The documentary is only an hour long, which is good, because you wouldn't want much more of this (there is an analogy about lasagne which will live long in the memory). And perhaps if this had happened to a boatload of Germans, the tone would have been different. But these were party-loving Americans. When things got really bad, the staff laid on a free bar. Even in the midst of a sanitary nightmare, everyone was keen to hit the tequila. As one of the guests puts it: 'Cruises are supposed to be fun. It's free booze. Let's go!'
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- The Guardian
Traffic, crowds and construction: India's hill stations swamped by tourists escaping Delhi heat
Until recently, the drive up the mountainous road to Landour was a highlight of a visit to the small hilltop town, as drivers enjoyed glorious Himalayan views and breathed in the cool forest air. Today, the journey is something to be endured with up to 1,000 cars a day clogging the narrow, winding road – slowing to navigate hairpin bends. A journey that once took five to six hours from Delhi can now take up to 10 hours, especially at weekends in May and June. Sitting in the foothills of the Himalayas at an altitude of more than 2,100 metres (7,000ft), Landour, a town of fewer than 4,000 people, was built by the British Indian army in the early 1820s as a convalescence station, thanks to its cooler temperatures. Although it is little more than two miles (4km) from Mussoorie, a popular tourist destination known as the 'queen of the hills', Landour was considered off the beaten track and attracted few visitors. But today, the oven-like heat in India's cities has led to a big increase in visitors to the country's popular hill stations, encouraging people to explore lesser-known, more remote villages such as Landour. Now, this once tranquil haven, where tourists could delight in birdsong and the scent of warm cakes coming from the teahouses, is now filled with the sounds of honking horns and the reek of exhaust fumes. Exposure during the pandemic, when social media influencers started to visit Landour and highlight its isolation and lack of crowds in videos, has also contributed to its rising popularity. 'Before this, very few tourists would come here,' says Ankita Singh, chief executive of Landour cantonment board. 'The [social media] reels made it popular. In the last five to six years, the number of tourists has grown exponentially. Recently, a 62-year-old man died in the ambulance before he could reach the hospital in Mussoorie, owing to the traffic jam.' In 2024, more than 2 million tourists visited Landour and Mussoorie, up from 1.47 million visitors in 2023 and 1 million in 2020. It can take up to an hour to drive the short distance between the two towns, and Landour's streets are now as chaotic as Mussoorie's, with traffic at a standstill and queues outside cafes and tearooms. The rise in visitors to the village has prompted the authorities to introduce measures to curb numbers. In June, the cantonment board introduced a limit to the number of cars, stipulating a maximum of 200 a day. Police are stationed at the entrance to the village to monitor traffic but online permits are planned to automate the process in the coming months. In 2024, India experienced its longest recorded heatwave since 2010. Many states experienced daytime temperatures above 40C (104F) for an entire month, leading to more than 44,000 cases of heatstroke. By April 2025, more than 10 states had already had severe heatwaves, according to a study by the thinktank Council on Energy, Environment and Water, released in May. The maximum temperature in May and June in Delhi this year hovered between 43C and 48C, according to India's meteorological department. By contrast, Landour's top temperature in June was a more comfortable 24C. But climate experts are warning that temperatures are rising at higher altitudes, too, and will pose a threat to hill villages. 'There is a significant rise in the temperatures during summer in some popular hill stations. Places like Nainital, Mussoorie and Munsiyari were extremely hot in 2024,' says Vishal Singh, director of the Centre for Ecology Development and Research (Cedar), which has been tracking temperatures in hilly regions for decades. The warmer weather has led to soaring sales of fans and air-conditioners. 'Homes and hotels in Mussoorie didn't have fans,' says Anil Prakash, 70, owner of Prakash Stores in Landour, an almost century-old shop selling homemade jams, pickles, peanut butter and oat cookies. 'We now feel the need for fans due to the increased heat. Every year, there seems to be a change in the weather. It is just getting hotter,' says Prakash. Pre-monsoon droughts have also led to water scarcity in the summer months. 'This heat will have a cascading impact,' says Manish Kumar, a researcher at a leading thinktank, the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP). 'As hill stations on the peripheries start attracting more crowds, they will become like Landour.' Sign up to Global Dispatch Get a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development team after newsletter promotion 'A small village like Sitla [Mukteshwar] – located on the edge of a reserve forest and with a population of less than 500 people – now has 15 to 20 resorts,' he adds. Trees have been cut down to make way for hotels and cafes to cater to the growing number of visitors. The construction boom – much of it haphazard – is contributing to emissions, local people say. 'Many trees have been cut and Landour is not the same,' says JP Singh, a retired merchant navy officer who lived in the town from 2000 to 2010. Rising temperatures in the hill towns are affecting migrant workers, too. But for some, the heat crisis has been a boon for business. 'If it's hot in the plains, our business is good,' says Naresh Chauhan, 28, a tour guide who migrated to Mussoorie four years ago from the Hindu pilgrim town of Yamunotri. 'I was hoping I can earn well here and improve my family's financial condition,' he says. The bet paid off: 'I earn 20,000 to 25,000 rupees [£172 to £215] a month, if business is good.' Ajit Singh Chauhan, who also migrated to Mussoorie from Uttarkashi to work as a tour guide, spends his days taking tourists to the popular Kempty waterfalls, the local market and around Landour He credits his earnings in 2024 to the heat, describing India's hottest year on record as a 'fantastic tourist season' in Mussoorie. 'The hotter it is, the better it is for us,' he says. But others drawn by the swelling crowds of visitors are now questioning their decision. Rahul Singh, who moved from Uttar Pradesh's Hardoi district five years ago, sells roasted chickpeas and nuts in paper cones to tourists walking around Mussorie's bazaar or seated in their cars, windows rolled down as they inhale the crisp air of the hills. 'Business was good then. I managed to earn 14,000 to 20,000 rupees a month,' says Singh, standing by a busy road in Mussoorie as air-conditioned cars roll by, their windows firmly shut. 'Sheesha khulega tabhi toh kuchh bikega na [I can sell if the car window is open],' he says. Fareed Rai, a fruit seller, came from Uttar Pradesh a year ago but is considering returning to his village. He installed a fan to keep his roadside shop cool but it fails to draw in many customers, who prefer to stay in their air-conditioned cars. 'Once the lease period of my shop is over, I just want to go back,' he says. A version of this story first appeared in the Migration Story, India's first newsroom to focus on the country's vast migrant population
Daily Mail
7 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Airplane passenger apologises for wildly embarrassing incident: 'I'm sorry for the stink'
A traveller who suffered an embarrassing bout of gastro on a flight has publicly apologised to his fellow passengers for creating a 'stink' and vomiting on a woman. The man had been flying with Batik Airlines from Jakarta, in Indonesia, to Perth on Sunday when his illness suddenly hit. He said he had begun to feel sick after he ate dragon fruit at his hotel before boarding the four-and-a-half-hour flight. 'I want to apologise to you all for my uncontrollable gastroenteritis,' he wrote on Reddit. 'I'm sorry for the stink. My diarrhoea was dreadful, but I managed to get to the toilet on time, each time. 'Thank you for your understanding and kindness by giving me some paracetamol. I was terribly embarrassed. Thank you to the man sitting next to me in the opposite aisle seat, you were all so understanding.' It wasn't only the stench that annoyed his fellow flyers. 'I am so sorry to the lady who was sitting next to me and I vomited all over you. I missed the vomit bag,' he said. Gastroenteritis, commonly known as 'gastro' or 'stomach flu', is an inflammation of the stomach and intestines caused by various factors like viruses, bacteria, or parasites. It typically leads to symptoms like diarrhoea and vomiting, and can sometimes cause dehydration. The vast majority of those on Reddit were sympathetic towards the man who had to deal with his illness in a confined space. 'Gastro is a nightmare to deal with in flight,' one said. 'I once dealt with it ripping through economy on a flight to the States. It was awful, and we ran out of everything. 'People were vomiting into their hands and eventually we gave up trying to segregate anyone as it was obvious it was out of control. 'Three of the crew ended up with it as well. We basically shoved one crew into the cockpit with the bio gear and told her to only leave to get the pilots food and drink.' 'This is a nightmare situation. So sorry you had to go through that in such a crowded space with no way out,' another wrote. One of the man's fellow passengers even chimed in. 'Hey mate, met you at the smokers' section just outside pickup when you were heading off to look for your car,' they said. 'I kept thinking about what you said after I got home. Honestly, I don't know if I would've reacted with the same grace as that lady in the moment. 'I reckon I probably would've flipped out, not from anger, just from the heat of the moment.' The gastroenteritis victim went on to say the vomiting didn't last long, but he still had to rush to the toilet a few times during the night when he got home. One social media user asked why the man would let the world know his embarrassing story. 'Not even God himself could beat this information out of me. Glad the flight was okay and people were understanding,' they wrote.
