IndiGo flight makes emergency landing in Delhi, engine failure suspected

A Visakhapatnam-Delhi IndiGo flight, carrying 161 passengers, made an emergency landing at the Delhi airport due to suspected engine failure.

In Short

• IndiGo flight 6E 579 reported suspected engine failure
• Boeing 737-800 with 161 passengers lands safely
• Incident raises concerns over Boeing 737 aircraft engines

A full emergency was declared on a runway of Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, Delhi, after an IndiGo flight from Visakhapatnam (6E 579) reported a suspected engine failure on Saturday. Runway 28 of the airport was placed on high alert, as airport authorities immediately activated emergency protocols.

However, the Visakhapatnam-Delhi flight, a Boeing 737-800 aircraft carrying 161 passengers, landed safely at around 11 am. All passengers were safely evacuated, sources said.

WHAT HAPPENED AT DELHI AIRPORT?

Information about the emergency landing was received at 10.53 am, following which all agencies were kept on alert, and fire tenders were dispatched. Authorities said no damage was reported.

"A flight made an emergency landing at Delhi airport. The fire department received information about the emergency landing at 10.53 am and immediately dispatched fire tenders. The flight landed safely," the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) said in a statement.

IndiGo, in a statement, said a "technical snag" was detected shortly before landing.

"As a precautionary step and in accordance with the standard operating procedure, the pilots requested priority landing, and the aircraft arrived safely at IGI Airport," the statement said.

Last month, a full emergency was declared at Delhi airport after a SpiceJet Delhi-Leh flight reported an issue in one of its engines. The flight, carrying around 150 passengers, returned to Delhi. It was also a Boeing 737 aircraft, which has recently come under scrutiny over repeated engine failures.

In fact, several international airlines have also reported a recurring pattern of failures involving the CFM56 engines on Boeing 737s. Last year, Aerolineas Argentinas grounded eight Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

- Ends