An Air India flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi, carrying several Members of Parliament from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, made an emergency landing in Chennai on Sunday night after encountering a technical problem mid-air.
Flight AI 2455, operated by an Airbus A320neo, took off from Thiruvananthapuram around 8 p.m. and was headed to Delhi when a fault in the flight’s signal system was detected. The pilots decided to divert to Chennai as a safety measure. Passengers reported that the flight had already experienced heavy turbulence shortly after take-off.
Among the passengers were MPs K. C. Venugopal, Adoor Prakash, Kodikunnil Suresh, K. Radhakrishnan, and Tamil Nadu MP Robert Bruce. According to K. C. Venugopal, the landing in Chennai was preceded by a tense moment when the aircraft had to abort its first landing attempt and go around again. He claimed that another aircraft was present on the runway, but Air India later clarified that the go-around was done on Air Traffic Control’s instructions and that there was no runway incursion.
The aircraft landed safely on its second attempt at around 10:35 p.m., and all passengers disembarked without incident. They were provided assistance in Chennai before being rebooked to Delhi.
Air India issued a statement saying passenger safety is its highest priority, and the aircraft was sent for a detailed technical inspection. The airline expressed regret for the inconvenience caused.
K. C. Venugopal has called for a detailed investigation by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Civil Aviation Ministry to ensure such incidents are avoided in the future.