Midair scare: IndiGo flight hits turbulence, aborts Delhi landing amid storm – Watch video

Dubai: An IndiGo flight from Raipur to Delhi was forced to abort its landing on Sunday evening due to a sudden dust storm and turbulent weather sweeping across the capital.

Flight 6E 6313 was moments away from touchdown at Indira Gandhi International Airport when strong winds and low visibility prompted the pilot to call off the landing. Instead, the aircraft circled in the air until weather conditions improved, eventually landing safely at 5:43 pm—about 40 minutes behind schedule.

Video shows panic as plane shakes midair

Footage from inside the cabin showed passengers crying out in fear as the aircraft shook violently. The pilot later informed passengers that wind speeds had reached 80 kmph, forcing a climb to higher altitude to avoid danger.

Delhi airport issues advisory

The turbulence occurred as Delhi and NCR were hit by a sudden dust storm, accompanied by rain, thunderstorms, and gusty winds. The Delhi airport issued an advisory warning passengers of potential delays due to inclement weather.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the storm was triggered by a fast-moving cloud cluster and winds gusting up to 76 kmph in some areas. Palam recorded gusts of 65 kmph around 4:30 pm, while winds at Pragati Maidan peaked at 76 kmph.

Delhi braces for rain, thunderstorms

IMD attributed the sudden storm to a combination of atmospheric disturbances, including a Western Disturbance over north Pakistan, a cyclonic circulation over Haryana, and moisture-laden winds from the Arabian Sea. The department also forecast more thunderstorms and gusty winds (40–50 kmph) for Monday.

Sharp drop in temperature

The storm brought much-needed relief from the heat, with temperatures dropping by up to 14°C in parts of Delhi. At Safdarjung, mercury levels fell from 37°C at 3:30 pm to 23°C by 5:30 pm, according to IMD records.

Earlier incident: IndiGo flight nose damaged

Just days earlier, another IndiGo flight—6E 2142 from Delhi to Srinagar—declared an emergency midair after encountering a severe hailstorm. With 227 people on board, the flight reported the situation to Srinagar ATC before landing safely at 6:30 pm.

IndiGo confirmed that the flight crew followed safety protocols and the aircraft was grounded for inspection after sustaining damage, including to its nose radome. All passengers and crew were unharmed.

With inputs from ANI