A Vistara Mumbai-Delhi flight, which was diverted to Lucknow because of bad weather conditions, eventually landed with minimum fuel left, after the pilot issued a Mayday alert to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) on Monday, July 15. The flight was carrying 153 people.
"The flight could have managed only 10 more minutes in the air before exhausting the fuel. The aircraft had barely 300 kg of fuel left when it touched down at the Lucknow airport," Vistara Airlines told NDTV.
The passenger flight was unable to land in Lucknow despite diversion from New Delhi due to the drop in visibility, said a statement released by Vistara airlines. After the flight was rediverted towards Prayagraj, the Lucknow ATC informed the crew to make its landing in Lucknow.
Vistara statement on UK944 diversion, July 15. pic.twitter.com/HrdQfCBeKU
— Vistara (@airvistara) July 17, 2019
The Airbus A-320 NEO flight usually lands with enough fuel for approximately 60 extra minutes, aviation experts told NDTV.
The incident came in the backdrop of the notice on fuel planning issued on July 5 by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The notice asked Indian airlines to carry enough fuel to fly two or more alternative destinations to avoid plane crashes caused by diversion.
The DGCA has grounded a Vistara pilot over the incident, reported ANI.
