Air India flight with senior political leaders onboard makes emergency landing in Chennai

An Air India flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi, carrying several senior political leaders, made an emergency landing at Chennai airport late on Sunday after a suspected radar malfunction — with a further scare during the first landing attempt.

Flight AI 2455 had on board four Members of Parliament from Kerala — Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal, UDF convenor Adoor Prakash, senior Congress leader Kodikunnil Suresh, and K. Radhakrishnan — along with Tamil Nadu MP Robert Bruce.

Speaking to reporters after disembarking, Mr Venugopal called the incident “a narrow escape from a major mishap.” He said the pilots detected a radar problem mid-air, forcing the diversion to Chennai. “We were airborne for around one hour and ten minutes before landing. I have already reported the matter to the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA),” he added.

Passengers recounted tense moments as the aircraft prepared to land. According to Mr Prakash, the approach was aborted when another plane was spotted on the runway. “We were seconds away from touchdown when the pilots pulled up sharply. The aircraft circled for about half an hour before making a safe landing. The crew remained calm and handled the situation with great professionalism,” he said.

All passengers were unharmed, but the episode has raised questions about air traffic management and the risk of runway incursions.

Sources suggest that the initial diversion was due to the radar fault, while the presence of another aircraft on the runway during the first landing attempt made the situation more serious.

Airport authorities are yet to issue an official statement. The DGCA is expected to launch an investigation into both the technical snag and the chain of events that led to the aborted landing.

—  With inputs from IANS