Air India rejects Venugopal's ‘plane on runway' claim after flight diversion, MP cites captain announcement
The party targeted Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal, who was on the flight, over his claim on social media that the aircraft was made to go around on its first attempt to land in Chennai because there was another plane on the runway. This was after Air India contradicted Venugopal in a statement.
New Delhi: The diversion of a Delhi-bound Air India flight, having a number of Opposition leaders among other passengers on board, from Thiruvananthapuram to Chennai Sunday, has run into conflicting claims, with BJP taking note of 'extremely serious' issue.
'A go-around was instructed by Chennai ATC (Air Traffic Control) during the first attempted landing at Chennai airport, not because of the presence of another aircraft on the runway. Our pilots are well-trained to handle such situations, and in this case, they followed standard procedures throughout the flight,' Air India said on X.
When contacted, Venugopal, who is the Lok Sabha MP from Kerala's Alappuzha, told ThePrint the announcement that the plane was making a go-around due to the presence of another aircraft on the runway 'was made by the captain himself'. He added that he has also raised the matter with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Earlier Sunday, Venugopal had posted on X: 'Air India flight AI 2455 from Trivandrum to Delhi – carrying myself, several MPs, and hundreds of passengers – came frighteningly close to tragedy today. What began as a delayed departure turned into a harrowing journey. Shortly after take-off, we were hit by unprecedented turbulence. About an hour later, the Captain announced a flight signal fault and diverted to Chennai.'
'For nearly two hours, we circled the airport awaiting clearance to land, until a heart-stopping moment during our first attempt – another aircraft was reportedly on the same runway. In that split second, the Captain's quick decision to pull up saved every life on board. The flight landed safely on the second attempt,' he added.
BJP leader Amit Malviya, highlighting Air India's response, said that if the version of the airline was true, then Venugopal 'should face consequences, including being put on a no-fly list for spreading falsehoods'.
''This is extremely serious. If senior Congress leader K.C. Venugopal claims an Air India flight had to abort landing in Chennai because another aircraft was on the runway and the airline immediately contradicts him, then one of them is misrepresenting facts. Aviation safety is paramount, and social media posts from supposedly responsible people cannot go unscrutinised,' Malviya wrote on X Monday.
'If the allegation is true, Chennai ATC and Air India have much to answer for. If not, Mr Venugopal should face consequences, including being put on a no-fly list for spreading falsehoods,' he added.
Apart from Venugopal, the other leaders on the flight were United Democratic Front convener Adoor Prakash, Congress chief whip in the Lok Sabha K. Suresh, party MP from Tamil Nadu Robert Bruce and CPI(M) MP K. Radhakrishnan.
In its statement, Air India said the flight made a precautionary diversion to Chennai due to a suspected technical issue and given the weather conditions en route. 'The flight landed safely in Chennai, where the aircraft will undergo the necessary checks. We regret the inconvenience caused to the affected passengers,' it said.
Sunday's is the second incident of a flight carrying political leaders getting hit by turbulence. In May, a Srinagar-bound Indigo flight from Delhi that had five Trinamool Congress leaders on board had run into intense turbulence, leading to the plane suffering some structural damage, before it landed safely.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
Also Read: 'More careful than colourful'—ThePrint's reporting on the Air India crash put facts first
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