Air India flight AI 2455 from Trivandrum to Delhi, carrying Congress MP KC Venugopal and several other party MPs made an emergency landing at the Chennai Airport on Sunday, owing to reported technical issues. The senior Congress leader recounted his “harrowing journey” aboard the flight that “came frighteningly close to tragedy”, in a social media post, urging the DGCA and the Aviation Ministry to investigate the matter and fix accountability.
“Air India flight AI 2455 from Trivandrum to Delhi - carrying myself, several MPs, and hundreds of passengers - came frighteningly close to tragedy today. What began as a delayed departure turned into a harrowing journey,” posted the Alappuzha MP on social media platform “X”.
He further claimed that shortly after take-off, the aircraft was hit by “unprecedented” turbulence, and about an hour later, the Captain announced a flight signal fault and diverted to Chennai. “For nearly two hours, we circled the airport awaiting clearance to land, until a heart-stopping moment during our first attempt - another aircraft was reportedly on the same runway. In that split second, the Captain’s quick decision to pull up saved every life on board. The flight landed safely on the second attempt,” he added.
The senior Congress leader called on the DGCA and the Ministry of Civil Aviation urging them to investigate the incident, fix accountability, and ensure such lapses never happen again “We were saved by skill and luck. Passenger safety cannot depend on luck,” said Venugopal.
However, responding to the senior Congress leader’s allegations, Air India claimed that the diversion to Chennai was precautionary due to a suspected technical issue and bad weather conditions. “Dear Mr Venugopal, we would like to clarify that the diversion to Chennai was precautionary due to a suspected technical issue and poor weather conditions. A go-around was instructed by Chennai ATC during the first attempted landing at Chennai airport, not because of the presence of another aircraft on the runway,” said the airlines in a statement.
“Our pilots are well-trained to handle such situations, and in this case, they followed standard procedures throughout the flight. We understand that such an experience can be unsettling and regret the inconvenience the diversion may have caused to you. However, safety is always our priority. Thank you for your understanding,” Air India added in their statement.
