Mumbai: Passenger Fury Leads To Pilot Change After IndiGo Flight Diverted

Mumbai, 14th June 2023: Passengers of IndiGo flight 6E 2441 from Lucknow to Mumbai experienced a series of disruptions and delays as the flight was diverted to Udaipur yesterday afternoon.

The aircraft, which departed from Lucknow Airport at 11:10 am with a scheduled arrival time of 1:15 pm in Mumbai, faced challenges during landing attempts, leading to its eventual diversion. The pilot decided to change course and safely touched down at Udaipur Airport, where the situation escalated as frustrated passengers demanded a pilot switch.

While the airline attributed the diversion to adverse weather conditions, passengers shared a different perspective. They claimed that the pilot had aborted two landing attempts in Mumbai before making a third unsuccessful attempt in Udaipur.

Passengers took to social media platforms such as Twitter to voice their concerns, directing complaints to civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

One passenger, Ajay Kapoor, expressed his dissatisfaction with the airline’s management, stating, “Flight Indigo 6E 2441 (Lko to Mumbai) not able to land in Mumbai due to poor management of Indigo Team. There are chances either Airbus malfunctioned or pilot not able to handle… Intervention needed.”

Another passenger recounted the multiple failed landing attempts, both in Mumbai and Udaipur. The frustration among passengers grew as they collectively decided not to continue the journey with the same pilot. It took approximately three hours of persistence before the airline agreed to change the pilot. The flight finally departed Udaipur and reached Mumbai around 8 pm, significantly behind schedule.

Analyzing flight data from Flightradar24.com, it was observed that the aircraft descended to 7,000 ft before making a turnaround and descending further to 300 ft before diverting to Udaipur. Capt Mohan Ranganathan, an aviation safety consultant and former instructor pilot of Boeing 737, reviewed the flight playback and confirmed that the pilot had attempted one landing before entering a holding pattern north of Mumbai and subsequently diverting.

Sources from Mumbai Air Traffic Control (ATC) attributed the diversion to gusty winds caused by the impact of Cyclone Biparjoy on the Gujarat coast.

IndiGo’s spokesperson cited adverse weather conditions as the reason for the pilot’s decision to divert to Udaipur. After landing in Udaipur, the pilot reported fatigue and requested a crew replacement, which caused further delay. Eventually, after crew changes and a considerable wait, the flight departed Udaipur and resumed its journey to Mumbai after 6 pm.