An Air India Express flight from Varanasi to Delhi made an emergency landing in Lucknow on Thursday after the crew received an indication of possible smoke in the aircraft’s cargo hold.
The Delhi-bound flight, IX 1253, landed at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow, where the airport’s emergency response team conducted an inspection. No visible smoke was detected during the checks.
All 155 passengers and crew members safely disembarked in Lucknow, the airline said.
The incident occurred two days after an IndiGo flight travelling from Goa to Delhi reported an engine failure mid-air and subsequently made an emergency landing at Goa airport.
The IndiGo incident led Air Traffic Control (ATC) to briefly declare a full emergency.
Flight 6E 2102 took off from Goa at 9.16 am on Tuesday but turned back after a problem was reported with one of its engines.
At around 9.30 am, ATC declared a full emergency as the aircraft was directed back towards Goa for a safe landing.
The plane landed safely at Goa airport, after which ATC called off the full emergency at 10.03 am. All passengers disembarked safely and were accommodated in the boarding area.
An IndiGo spokesperson said a technical problem was detected shortly after flight 6E 2102 departed from North Goa for Delhi. The relevant authorities were informed as per standard operating procedures, following which the pilots turned the aircraft around and landed safely at Manohar International Airport.
The airline said the aircraft was undergoing maintenance inspections and would return to service after receiving all necessary clearances.
