An IndiGo flight from Mumbai to Guwahati made an emergency landing in Bangladesh's capital city Dhaka due to dense fog. As severe cold wave grips north, central and East India, flight operations have been hampered ion several places.
The diverted flight landed in Dhaka at 4 am after it was unable to land at the Guwahati airport due to low visibility. According to news agency ANI, the pilot initially aimed for Kolkata but, faced with unfavourable weather, redirected the flight to Bhubaneswar, where the runway was closed. Finally, the captain decided on Dhaka as the nearest available airport.
Congress leader and former State Working President Youth Congress Mumbai Suraj Singh Thakur informed that he and several other passengers in the Guwahati bound IndiGo flight had landed in Dhaka, Bangladesh, without their passport as the airline had to reroute owing to dense fog.
“I took @IndiGo6E flight 6E 5319 from Mumbai to Guwahati. But due to dense fog, the flight couldn't land in Guwahati. Instead, it landed in Dhaka. Now all the passengers are in Bangladesh without their passports, we are inside the plane” the Congress leader tweeted.
The passengers are still inside the plane, Thakur said, adding that they have been inside the aircraft for nine hours. "I am stuck inside aircraft for 9 hours now. I left for Manipur (Imphal) for the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. Let's see when I reach Guwahati and then will fly to Imphal," he wrote.
Another flier, in a post on X, said the 178 passengers had been waiting for over four hours for another crew to fly back to their destination.
"IndiGo6E stuck inside aircraft with 178 passengers for 9 hours now, flying 6E 5319 from Mumbai to Guwahati. We made a landing in Dhaka around 4am because of lower visibility in the North East. We have been waiting for another crew for 4 hours now, can we please expedite?," he wrote.
IndiGo responded to the post saying the flight was diverted due to bad weather but did not specify when the flight will leave the Bangladesh capital.
"Hi, we truly regret the inconvenience caused to you. The flight was diverted due to bad weather which is beyond our control too. Our team is working to assist the passengers to the best of their capabilities. We sincerely look forward to your understanding," it wrote.
IndiGo also issued a press statement later confirming the re-routing. “IndiGo flight 6E 5319 from Mumbai to Guwahati was diverted to Dhaka, Bangladesh due to bad weather in Guwahati. Due to operational reasons, an alternate set of crew is being arranged to operate the flight from Dhaka to Guwahati. The passengers were kept informed of updates and were served with refreshments on board. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused.” the statement read.
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