IndiGo Flight Enters Pakistan Airspace; Know What Happened

Islamabad: An Ahmedabad-bound IndiGo flight from Amritsar entered Pakistani airspace due to inclement weather, PTI reported on Sunday.

Flight 6E-645 had to take a deviation over Atari and went up to Gujranwala before heading back to Indian airspace safely on Saturday evening, the airline said.

“The deviation was well coordinated with Pakistan by Amritsar ATC via telephone. The crew was in continuous contact with Pakistan on R/T and the flight landed in Ahmedabad safely post the deviation,” the statement added.

The Dawn newspaper earlier reported that the aircraft, with a ground speed of 454 knots, had entered north of Lahore at about 7.30 pm on Saturday and returned to India at 8.01 pm.

A senior official of Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority was quoted as saying that the plane’s path was not unusual as it was “internationally allowed” in bad weather conditions.

In May, a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight had entered Indian airspace and remained there for nearly 10 minutes due to heavy rainfall in Pakistan.

The flight, PK248 from Muscat, was attempting to land at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport on May 4 before being forced to change direction because of weather conditions.