Bengaluru: A Fly91 flight from Hyderabad to Hubballi was diverted to Bengaluru due to adverse weather conditions, with airport officials maintaining that all passengers were safe.
The incident caused panic among the passengers as the aircraft remained airborne for three-and-half hours on Sunday.
Some of the scared passengers were in tears and started praying for their safety.
The flight, which departed Hyderabad at around 3 pm, was scheduled to land in Hubballi at about 4.30 pm but was unable to do so due to unfavourable weather, sources said.
Due to bad weather, the flight from Hyderabad to Hubballi was diverted to Bengaluru, an airport official said, adding that such diversions are a standard safety measure.
According to the official, the aircraft hovered over Hubballi for about an hour in anticipation of improvement in weather conditions before being diverted.
“This is general practice. Aircraft circle in the air for some time waiting for the weather to improve. It is the pilot’s decision,” he said.
The flight landed in Bengaluru at around 6.30 pm and was flown back to Hubballi at about 11 pm after weather conditions improved, the official added.
Sources said there were 22 passengers on board the flight.
Officials also pointed to similar disruptions in the region, noting that another flight from Mumbai to Kolhapur was diverted to Goa due to weather conditions.
All passengers are safe. There is no issue, the official said.
In a statement, FLY91 said the flight departed from Hyderabad at 3 pm. On nearing Hubballi, the flight encountered bad weather due to which the flight was diverted to Bengaluru as per standard protocol.
The flight subsequently returned to Hubballi and back to its home base in Hyderabad, the statement said.
Fly91 said there was zero compromise to safety. Holding the aircraft over Hubballi and diverting to Bengaluru was part of the standard operating procedure. This is among the best practices adopted by the industry.
“FLY91 has a highly skilled team of pilots, cabin crew and ground staff which are trained to manage any situation which may come up. The regional airline has an impeccable safety record,” it added.
The airlines company said the flight IC3401 flying from Hyderabad to Hubballi did not develop any technical snag as is being reported in some sections of the media.
“Information in some news reports pointing to a technical issue faced by the aircraft is false and baseless,” the statement read.
