Delhi-bound Air India flight gets diverted to Chennai after snag

Senior Congress leader and Chairman of Parliaments Public Accounts Committee K C Venugopal on Sunday night claimed that an Air India flight carrying him and several other MPs from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi came frighteningly close to tragedyIn a statement the airline said that Air India flight AI2455 flying from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi was diverted to Chennai on Sunday evening due to a technical issueTaking to X Venugopal said 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 takeoff we were hit by unprecedented turbulence About an hour later the Captain announced a flight signal fault and diverted to ChennaiFor nearly two hours we circled the airport awaiting clearance to land until a heartstopping moment during our first attempt another aircraft was reportedly on the same runway In that split second the Captains quick decision to pull up saved every life on board The flight landed safely on the second attempt he said in the postWe were saved by skill and luck Passenger safety cannot depend on luck I urge DGCAIndia and MoCA_GoI to investigate this incident urgently fix accountability and ensure such lapses never happen again the Congress leader wrote Responding to Venugopal on X Air India said We would like to clarify that the diversion to Chennai was precautionary due to a suspected technical issue and poor weather conditionsAir India clarifies that flight AI2455 of 10 August operating from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi was diverted to Chennai as a precautionary measure after the pilot detected a suspected technical issue and in view of the weather conditions en route to Delhi It was decided to divert to Chennai instead of Bengaluru as the weather in Chennai was clear As the aircraft was overweight for an immediate landing the pilot had to hold over Chennai to reduce weight and no emergency was declared During the first landing approach the ATC asked the pilots to initiate a goaround as another aircraft that had taken off from the same runway had reported a suspected foreign object debris FOD on the runway Air India claimedAfter following a standard goaround the flight made a normal and safe landing We would like to reiterate that the decision to divert to Chennai was taken in the best interest of the safety of our passengers and crew Our crew are well trained to handle such situations and in this case they followed the protocols during the entire flight All the affected passengers were accommodated on alternate flights to Delhi and the said aircraft has also resumed commercial operations Air India deeply regrets any inconvenience caused by the diversion and consequent delay the airline addedThe flight AI2455 operated with an Airbus A320 aircraft was airborne for more than two hours according to information available on the flight tracking website Flightradar24comAlternative arrangements are being made to fly the passengers to their destinations at the earliest Air India said and regretted the inconvenience caused Details about the number of passengers were not available The flight took off little past 8 pm from Thiruvananthapuram and landed in Chennai at around 1035 pm as per information from Flightradar24com In recent weeks there have been instances of some of Air Indias aircraft facing technical snagsAn official statement from the DGCA said On 10 August 2025 Air India flight AI2455 operated by an Airbus A320 aircraft registration VTTNL was scheduled to depart from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi at 1915 hours IST The departure was delayed by 49 minutes due to the late arrival of the incoming aircraft from Delhi which was impacted by weatherrelated diversions consequential delays and commercial adjustments The aircraft departed Thiruvananthapuram at 2004 hours ISTIt further said During cruise the operating crew encountered moderate turbulence It was observed that the onboard weather radar was not displaying weather data accurately As a precautionary measure and in the interest of operational safety the crew decided to divert to Chennai To ensure a safe landing weight the aircraft entered a holding pattern approximately 25 nautical miles northeast of Chennai and remained in orbit for 43 minutes from 2125 IST to 2208 IST with ATC clearance to burn excess fuel Upon receiving approach clearance for Runway 25 at Chennai the aircraft initiated final approach However at 2219 IST Chennai ATC instructed the crew to execute a missed approach due to a report from an outbound Gulf Air flight GFA053 ChennaindashBahrain indicating suspected debris on the left side of the runway Subsequent inspection by Apron Control found no debris or anomalies on the runway Following clearance from ATC the aircraft landed safely at 2239 IST Postlanding engineering checks revealed no abnormalities in the aircraft systems However as an added safety measure the weather radar transceiver was replaced with a serviceable unit before further operationAir India places the highest priority on the safety of its passengers and crew and appreciates the professionalism of its operating crew and the support extended by Chennai Air Traffic Control during the event the statement saidWith inputs from Madhulika Ram Kavattur