SpiceJet flight makes emergency landing at Ahmedabad due to technical issue

A Jodhpur-bound SpiceJet flight made an emergency landing at the Ahmedabad airport Monday due to a cabin pressurisation problem, a release said.

The pilot of the flight SEJ2976, operating on Ahmedabad-Jodhpur route, reported cabin pressurisation issue, shortly after its take off from the city airport this afternoon, said a release by the Ahmedabad airport.

The flight, carrying 83 persons including four crew members, departed from Ahmedabad at 3.09 pm for Jodhpur.

"At 3.15 pm, when the aircraft was 15,000 feet above the ground, the pilot informed the Ahmedabad Air Traffic Control (ATC) that the aircraft had cabin pressurisation failure," the release said.

"In view of the safety of passengers and aircraft, ATC immediately facilitated priority landing of the aircraft. The flight landed at Ahmedabad at time 3.29 pm safely," the statement added.

The airport authority has said that the airline had made necessary arrangements to connect the passengers to Jodhpur either via Delhi or Mumbai.

Passengers have also been offered road transport. Those passengers who have desired to cancel their journey have been given full refund of the airfare, the release said.

SG2976 is a Bombardier Q400 aircraft. Currently, SpiceJet has a fleet of 37 Boeing 737 MAX and NG jets and 23 Bombardier Q-400s.

According to Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA), SpiceJet's Bombardier Q400 aircraft have faced a total of 1,993 "technical defects or snags" in 2017.

SpiceJet's Boeing 737 NG aircraft have faced a total of 2,910 "technical defects or snags" in 2017, according to the ministry.

On an average, the airline daily operates 416 flights to 57 destinations, including 8 international ones.

According to MOCA, technical snag means a condition existing in an aircraft (including its systems) or aircraft components - arising from any cause other than damage -- which would preclude it or another aircraft component from performing their intended functions.