An IndiGo flight en route from Mumbai to Guwahati faced an unexpected diversion to Dhaka on Friday night due to adverse weather conditions in Guwahati. The airline, in a statement, revealed that operational constraints led to the decision, and an alternative crew is being arranged to operate the flight from Dhaka to Guwahati.
“IndiGo flight 6E 5319 from Mumbai to Guwahati was diverted to Dhaka, Bangladesh due to bad weather in Guwahati. Due to operational reasons, an alternate set of crew is being arranged to operate the flight from Dhaka to Guwahati,” stated the airline.
Passengers were kept informed of updates and were provided with refreshments on board during the diversion. A passenger on the Guwahati-bound flight, Suraj Singh Thakur, shared the experience on social media, citing “dense fog” as the reason for the diversion. He mentioned that all passengers remained inside the plane as they did not have their passports.
“I took IndiGo flight 6E 5319 from Mumbai to Guwahati. But due to dense fog, the flight couldn’t land in Guwahati. Instead, it landed in Dhaka. Now all the passengers are in Bangladesh without their passports; we are inside the plane,” Thakur said.
The flight, scheduled to take off from Mumbai at 8:20 pm and land in Guwahati at 11:10 pm, experienced a delay of three hours, departing from Mumbai around 11:20 pm, as reported by Flightradar24.
Suraj Singh Thakur, an All India Congress Committee delegate, highlighted the situation of being stuck inside the aircraft without passports, raising concerns about the unexpected diversion. The airline expressed regret for any inconvenience caused and assured passengers that efforts were underway to resume the journey to Guwahati promptly.
The decision to divert the flight to Dhaka was made due to unfavorable weather conditions in Guwahati, with alternative landing options limited by weather-related challenges. As passengers await the completion of arrangements for an alternate crew, the incident underscores the unpredictable nature of air travel, particularly when faced with adverse weather conditions.