New Delhi: DGCA has imposed a Rs 70 lakh fine on Air Vistara for not operating minimum number of mandated flights to underserved areas of country's northeast, as reported by the news agency ANI.


The fine was imposed in Oct last yr for not complying with rules. Airline paid the fine: DGCA(Directorate General of Civil Aviation).


Ealier in January, passengers onboard an Air Vistara flight operating from Delhi to Bhubaneswar had a narrow escape after a full emergency was declared due to hydraulic failure. However, the flight landed safely in Delhi and all the passengers were safe.


After the incident, Air Vistara had issued an official statement citing a technical snag forced the aircraft to head back. The UK-781 DEL-BBI returned to Delhi airport at 8:19 pm shortly after it took off and all passengers are safe, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said. According to a statement issued by the airline, the aircraft had to return to IGI Airport, Delhi due to a minor technical snag which was detected shortly after take-off. The statement said that the pilots decided to return as a precautionary measure.


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An alternate aircraft was immediately arranged for the passengers, said Vistara. The DGCA ordered an inquiry into the incident. There have been several instances of airplanes malfunctioning past few months. An IndiGo flight returned to the Indira Gandhi International Airport, soon after taking off for Phuket in Thailand due to a technical glitch on January 3, ANI reported citing an official.


In another incident of technical glitch, an IndiGo aircraft flying from Sharjah to Hyderabad which was diverted to Pakistan after the pilot reported a technical defect in the aircraft. The plane made a precautionary landing in Karachi and all the passengers were safe.