Air India flight diverted to Chennai: DGCA rejects MP Venugopals declare

Aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday (August 11, 2025) mentioned that Air India’s Thiruvananthapuram-Delhi flight, by which some Parliamentarians have been onboard, was diverted to Chennai on Sunday (August 10) night because of suspected malfunctioning of the climate radar of the plane.

Congress MP Okay.C. Venugopal and several other different parliamentarians have been amongst over 100 passengers on the Air India flight late on Sunday (August 10) night time that noticed a sequence of nerve racking moments — climate turbulence, a suspected malfunction within the climate radar, 90 minutes of circling over another airport and an aborted touchdown because of a runway particles.

“Shortly after take-off, we have been hit by unprecedented turbulence. About an hour later, the Captain introduced a flight sign fault and diverted to Chennai. For practically two hours, we circled the airport awaiting clearance to land, till a heart-stopping second throughout our first try — one other plane was reportedly on the identical runway,” Mr. Venugopal wrote on X about his AI 2455 flight. The plane landed safely within the second try.

The DGCA responded with an in depth assertion and rejected the declare that touchdown was aborted due to one other plane on the runway.

The MP mentioned that they have been saved by ability and luck, and known as for the DGCA to analyze the matter.

Flight monitoring web site Flightradar 24 confirmed that the plane took off from Thiruvanantapuram at 8.17 p.m. after a delay of practically one hour. Enroute it was diverted to Chennai, the place it circled over the airport for 90 minutes.

According to the DGCA assertion, the plane’s departure from Thiruvananthapuram was delayed because of late arrival of the plane from Delhi due to poor climate. The plane encountered reasonable turbulence and orbited over Chennai airport to burn further gasoline earlier than making an attempt a touchdown. During this time interval, pilots suspected a climate radar malfunction. However, because it was approaching the runway, it was instructed by the air site visitors management tower to abort touchdown as a result of a earlier flight had reported suspected particles on the runway.

The DGCA assertion additional added that an inspection of runway didn’t discover something untoward and the plane was given clearance for touchdown. A protected touchdown was carried out the second time at 10.39 p.m.

It additionally mentioned that Air India’s engineering group discovered no deficiency within the climate radar, however as a precautionary measure changed its transreceiver.

Air India mentioned in a press release that each one the affected passengers have been accommodated on various flights to Delhi and the plane concerned within the incident has additionally resumed business operations.