Delhi-bound Air India flight makes emergency landing at Jaipur due to engine snag; all flyers safe

NEW DELHI: An Air India flight from Bhopal to New Delhi carrying 140 on board had an emergency landing at Jaipur on Sunday morning due to an issue with one of its engines. It landed safely at Jaipur and the flight has been grounded.An emergency was declared for half an hour at the airport.

Flight AI I186 took off from Bhopal Raja Bhoj airport at 8.26 am, according to flight tracking platform, FlightStats. It landed safely at Jaipur airport around 9.40 am and all passengers have disembarked.

A source at Jaipur airport said, "One of the pilots contacted our Air Traffic Control with the request for an emergency landing due to some issue on board. We made arrangements accordingly. An emergency was declared at our airport from 9.10 am. Security personnel, ambulance and fire fighting vehicles were kept on standby at the airport. The plane landed smoothly on the runway."

It is reliably understood that there may have been an engine-related issue on board prompting the cockpit crew to decide to go in for an emergency landing.

In a statement, Air India said, "Flight AI1886 operating from Bhopal to Delhi on 13 September was diverted to Jaipur due to a technical issue as per laid down procedures. The aircraft landed safely at Jaipur and is undergoing checks in line with Air India's safety standards. Air India regrets the inconvenience caused to passengers by this unforeseen situation and every effort is being made to fly the passengers to their destination at the earliest. Our ground team at Jaipur has been providing immediate assistance and support to the passengers. At Air India, the safety of our passengers and crew remain top priority.”

A few domestic flights have reported issues when midair in the last one week.