By The Sampadak Express
In a tense moment mid-flight, Pakistan reportedly denied a request from an IndiGo Airlines pilot to enter its airspace to avoid severe weather, highlighting the strained relations between the two nations.
Flight 6E2142, traveling from Delhi to Srinagar with 227 passengers on board, encountered a sudden and violent hailstorm on Wednesday evening while flying over Amritsar. In a bid to bypass the turbulence, the pilot contacted Lahore Air Traffic Control (ATC) seeking temporary access to Pakistani airspace. However, the request was turned down, according to sources cited by a news agency.
Despite facing extreme weather conditions, the pilot was forced to stick to the original flight path. The aircraft was hit hard by the hailstorm, causing severe turbulence and significant damage to its nose. The situation escalated to the point where the pilot declared an emergency.
The aircraft landed safely at Srinagar Airport around 6:30 PM, and all passengers and crew members were evacuated without injury. The plane, however, was declared “Aircraft on Ground” (AOG) due to the extent of the damage and will remain grounded for repairs.
The incident caused considerable panic onboard. Among the passengers were five Trinamool Congress leaders Derek O’Brien, Nadimul Haque, Sagarika Ghose, Manas Bhunia, and Mamata Thakur who later expressed their gratitude to the crew for ensuring a safe landing.
The turbulence coincided with a sudden weather shift across Delhi-NCR, where a powerful hailstorm and heavy rains disrupted several flight operations at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, leading to multiple diversions and delays.
The denial of airspace usage by Pakistan comes in the backdrop of heightened tensions between the two countries following the recent Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 civilian lives. In response to the deteriorating diplomatic environment, both nations have restricted each other’s aircraft from using their airspace.
