A SpiceJet flight from Delhi to Dubai was diverted Tuesday towards Pakistan’s Karachi airport after the indicator light failed. A replacement plane was sent to Karachi, which would take the passengers to Dubai.
A SpiceJet spokesperson said in a release that the aircraft landed safely in Karachi, and the passengers were deboarded safely. The release also noted that the plane made a normal landing.
No emergency was declared after that or during the incident.
There was also no report of malfunction of the aircraft. The aviation company said that refreshments were served to the passengers. The flight was carrying 150 passengers. All passengers were transferred to the transit lounge after the landing.
Engineers were inspecting and trying to find a fix to the issue with the aircraft. The aircraft will be given clearance for flight only after the aircraft engineers issue a clearance report, the Pakistan civil aviation authority (CAA) said.
“The plane landed in Karachi at 0803 am (local time), 53 minutes after being airborne. It has been on-ground for the past four hours. Passengers are being looked after. The plane has been parked in the designated area where engineers are assessing the problem,” Pakistan CAA said.
The DGCA, in a statement, said that the crew observed a remarkable reduction in fuel quantity from the left tank of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft while it was mid-air. It said the team carried out the relevant non-normal checklist after the finding.
“However, fuel quantity kept decreasing. Aircraft diverted to Karachi in coordination with ATC. During the post-flight inspection, no visual leak was observed from the left main tank,” the DGCA said.
Over the past few months, the aviation company recorded three such incidents where their aircraft developed technical difficulties while they were mid-air.
Earlier on July 2, a SpiceJet flight heading to Jabalpur returned to Delhi after smoke filled up its cabin at around 5,000 feet. The DGCA later said that the smoke was caused due to oil leakage in one of the engines of the Q400 aircraft.