The passengers of an Indigo flight from Ayodhya to Delhi had a traumatic experience on Sunday after the flight, which was diverted to Chandigarh, landed with "just two minutes of fuel left."
The unnerving incident was reported by Delhi Police Deputy Commissioner (Crime) Satish Kumar, who was a passenger on the flight. He took to X to share the harrowing episode, while questioning whether the crew followed all the standard operating procedures (SOPs).
"Had a harrowing experience yesterday with @IndiGo6E Flight No. 6E2702 from Ayodhya to Delhi. Scheduled departure time 3:25 p.m. and the scheduled arrival time 4:30 p.m.," his post read.
Kumar said the pilot announced around 4:15 p.m. that Delhi airport was experiencing bad weather and assured that the plane had 45 minutes of Holding Fuel. "The pilot attempted landing twice, couldn’t due to bad weather and still wasted a lot of time deciding the next course of action," he added.
However, at 5:30 pm, the pilot announced that he would attempt landing at Chandigarh. According to Kumar, 75 minutes had lapsed since the pilot made the initial fuel announcement. "By that time lot of passengers and one of the crew staff started puking out of panic. Finally, the plane managed to land at 6:10 p.m. at Chandigarh Airport after a lapse of 115 minutes, since the 45 minutes holding fuel announcement," the post read.
The passengers also said that they got to know from the crew that the landing was made with "only 1 or 2 minutes of fuel left." Sharing the "ordeal", Kumar urged the DGCA and Ministry of Civil Aviation to enquire whether all SOPs were followed. IndiGo is yet to respond to the post or issue a statement in this regard.
Had a harrowing experience yesterday with @IndiGo6E Flight No. 6E2702 from Ayodhya to Delhi. Scheduled departure time 3:25 p.m. and schedule arrival time 4:30 p.m.
— Satish Kumar (@CopSatish499) April 14, 2024
Around 4:15 p.m. the pilot announced that there’s bad weather at @DelhiAirport. and assured that the plane has 45…
However, the post garnered mixed reactions on X with some stating that "everything is monitored when it comes to flight crew."
"FYI, pilots carry enough fuel for holding ( that means making round circles in the air to wait ), they also carry additional fuel to make multiple attempts of landing at the original destination airport. Furthermore, if that doesn't work out, they also have reserve fuel...", the user added.
