IndiGo flight makes emergency landing in Nagpur after technical snag

"IndiGo's Nagpur-Lucknow flight, returned to origin after take-off, following a suspected momentary technical snag," the airline informed

Nagpur: An IndiGo Nagpur-Lucknow flight returned to the Nagpur airport, from where it had taken off, following a suspected technical snag, said the airline on Monday (April 4). The airline further informed that all the passengers were safe after the return of the flight to Nagpur airport.

"IndiGo's Nagpur-Lucknow flight, returned to origin after take-off, following a suspected momentary technical snag, today. The pilots followed the standard operating procedures and returned safely to Nagpur airport. All passengers are safe," said the airline. Following the incident, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation ordered an inquiry into the emergency landing of the IndiGo flight at Nagpur airport after smoke was seen coming out of the aircraft, said a senior DGCA official.

Recently, the Indian Air Force (IAF) identified 28 Emergency Landing Facilities (ELF) on highways across the country. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in a statement informed that five such ELFs are in Assam, four in West Bengal, three in Andhra Pradesh, three in Gujarat, three in Rajasthan, two in Bihar, two in Haryana, two in Jammu and Kashmir, two in Tamil Nadu, and one each in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

These ELFs are capable of operations by Military Aircraft and can also be used for a similar class of civilian aircraft if required. This information was given by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, the ministry said. Gadkari also informed the House that as a policy, the barest minimum number of trees are felled in a marginal strip of land for implementation of the National Highways Projects adding that "no major impact on the environment" has been reported so far, due to National Highways Projects."There might be a marginal positive impact on the environment as more trees are planted in lieu of felled trees. The ministry has also taken a decision to utilize technology and expertise to transplant trees in place of telling them. This work is in progress," he added. 

(With ANI inputs)