IndiGo flight declares ‘Mayday’, makes emergency landing after fuel emergency

An IndiGo flight from Guwahati to Chennai carrying 168 passengers declared a ‘Mayday’ due to critically low fuel and made an emergency landing at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport on Thursday evening, according to media reports.

The Airbus A321 (flight 6E-6764) departed Guwahati at 4:40 pm and initially attempted to land in Chennai around 7:45 pm. After touching down, the pilot aborted the landing and initiated a go-around.

About 35 miles from Bengaluru, the pilot declared the emergency ‘mayday’ call and diverted the flight to Bengaluru, where it landed safely at 8:20 pm.

Airport officials were promptly alerted, with medical and fire services on standby during the landing. Passengers described a sudden, steep climb during the go-around, which caused visible panic on board.

Both pilots have been taken off duty pending an investigation, although IndiGo has not officially confirmed this step.

This emergency landing comes shortly after the tragic Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad on June 12, which claimed 241 lives. That flight also issued a ‘mayday’ call shortly before the crash.

Separately, on Friday, another IndiGo flight bound for Madurai faced a mid-air technical issue and safely returned to Chennai. The 68 passengers were deplaned with all safety protocols followed, sources said.