IndiGo flight to Srinagar makes precautionary landing in Varanasi

An IndiGo plane enroute to Srinagar from Kolkata landed at the Varanasi airport on Wednesday evening following a reported fuel leak, officials said.

Sources said malfunctioning of a sensor in the aircraft led to a false alarm of fuel leakage, following which the plane landed in Varanasi.

However, according to the Gomti Zone Police, the IndiGo flight 6E-6961 was diverted to Varanasi after the pilot detected a fuel leakage mid-air.

Assessing the gravity of the situation, the pilot immediately contacted Air Traffic Control (ATC) at Varanasi and sought permission for an emergency landing, they said.

The aircraft safely landed the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport at 4.10 pm, police said.

All 166 passengers on board were reported to be safe and were escorted to the arrival hall soon after landing, they said.

A technical team is inspecting the aircraft to identify and fix the fault.

Authorities said the situation is "completely normal and under control."  "IndiGo flight 6E 6961, operating from Kolkata to Srinagar, made a precautionary landing at Varanasi airport due to a suspected technical issue. As a safety measure, the aircraft has been grounded for necessary checks, and an alternate aircraft has been arranged to continue the journey," the airline said in a statement.

The flight was operated with A320 neo aircraft, as per information available on flight tracking website Flightradar24.com.