Air India Express Flight Diverted To Muscat After Burning Smell In Cabin

A few hours before this, an IndiGo flight from Sharjah to Hyderabad in UAE made an emergency landing in Karachi, Pakistan after a technical fault.

An Air India aircraft prepares to land (File photo: getty)

New Delhi: An Air India Express plane on Saturday night was diverted to Muscat after a burning smell was observed in the cabin mid-air, said officials of aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), as reported by news agency ANI. A senior official of DGCA confirmed that "the Air India Express B737-800 aircraft VT-AXX operating flight IX-355 (Calicut-Dubai) was diverted to Muscat as, during Cruise, a burning smell came from one of the vents in the forward galley."

Air India Express aircraft VT-AXX operating flight IX-355 (Calicut-Dubai) diverted to Muscat as during Cruise, a burning smell emitted from one of the vents in the forward galley: DGCA

— ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2022

"Crew carried out a non-normal checklist for smoke fire or fumes and diverted to Muscat and landed safely," he said.

A few hours before this, an IndiGo flight from Sharjah to Hyderabad in UAE made an emergency landing in Karachi, Pakistan after a technical fault. 

"After the pilot of the Sharjah-Hyderabad flight observed a technical defect in the aircraft, as a precaution the aircraft was diverted to Karachi, Pakistan. An additional flight is being sent to Karachi to fly the passengers to Hyderabad," IndiGo airlines stated, as quoted by news agency ANI.

This is the second Indian airline to land in Karachi in two weeks.
 
Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia held a meeting on Sunday in view of several incidents of technical glitches in Indian airlines. Security issues were discussed with senior officials of the ministry and DGCA. During the meeting, Scindia sought a detailed report from the officials on such incidents that took place in the last month. During this, the Aviation Minister said that no compromise should be made with the safety of the passengers.