False fire alarm: IndiGo pilots declare emergency mid-air, return to Chennai airport
IndiGo's Chennai-Kuwait flight carrying more than 160 passengers returned to Chennai airport minutes after taking off in the early hours of Friday when pilots declared a mid-air emergency following a fire alarm.
It was later found that the alarm was set off by faulty smoke detectors in the cargo compartment, said a source privy to the development.
The A320neo plane had taken off around 1.20 am. Just 15 minutes after departure, pilots observed a fire alarm and immediately relayed the emergency code 7700 to all Air Traffic Controls, the source said.
A spokesperson of the airline said, "IndiGo A320 was operating Chennai-Kuwait 6E-1751. After take-off from Chennai, the pilot observed a momentary message of the smoke detector in the aft cargo compartment."
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