Lucknow: An IndiGo flight from Agartala to Delhi carrying 103 passengers made a precautionary landing at Lucknow airport on Tuesday evening after a smoke warning was detected in the aircraft’s cargo area.
Flight 6E6504 was diverted to Lucknow following the warning. Flight-tracking data showed that the aircraft squawked 7700, the transponder code used to indicate a general emergency, during the diversion, as reported by The Times of India.
Emergency response protocols were activated at the Lucknow airport, with fire and rescue teams, ambulances, medical personnel, security and terminal support deployed.
The aircraft landed safely at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport at 6.29 pm with 103 passengers and six crew members on board. No passenger or crew member was reported injured.
The aircraft operating the flight was VT-ISY, an Airbus A320-251N (A320neo). The aircraft, bearing manufacturer serial number 10586, made its first flight on Aug 2, 2021, and was delivered to IndiGo on Sept 1 that year. It has therefore been in service with the airline for just over five years, as per Flightradar24.
“All necessary support was provided, and the situation was handled smoothly with no untoward incident,” Lucknow airport said in a statement.
Passengers were deboarded and a technical team had begun inspecting the aircraft’s cargo bay. A source said the initial inspection had not detected anything suggesting the presence of smoke.
“We haven’t found anything in the cargo bay which indicates a smoke issue,” the source said. Further technical inspection was underway to determine what triggered the warning.
Less than two weeks ago, another Delhi-bound flight was diverted to Lucknow following a similar warning.
Air India Express flight IX 1253 from Varanasi to Delhi, carrying 155 passengers, made a precautionary landing at Lucknow on September 3 after pilots received a smoke indication in the aircraft’s aft cargo compartment. The aircraft was a Boeing 737 MAX 8 bearing registration VT-BXJ. An inspection after landing found no visible smoke.
The passengers of the Air India Express flight were subsequently ferried to Delhi on another aircraft.
“The cause of Tuesday’s smoke warning on the IndiGo aircraft was not immediately known. But seems similar to IX 1253 incident which happened on Sept 3,” a source said.
