IndiGo flight diverted to Pakistan due to bad weather: Report

Islamabad. An IndiGo airline flight from Amritsar to Ahmedabad diverted near Lahore in Pakistan due to bad weather and reached Gujranwala before safely returning to Indian airspace. This information has been given in a news that came in the media on Sunday. Dawn newspaper reported that according to the flight radar, the Indian aircraft flying at a speed of 454 knots entered northern Lahore at around 7.30 pm on Saturday and returned to India at 8.15 pm. There was no immediate comment from the airline.

According to the report, a senior official of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said that this is not unusual as it is “allowed internationally” in case of inclement weather. It may be noted that in May, due to heavy rains in Pakistan, a Pakistan International Airline (PIA) aircraft had entered Indian airspace and remained there for about 10 minutes. Flight PK248 was returning from Muscat on May 4 and was to land at Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore. However, heavy rain made it difficult for the pilot of the Boeing 777 aircraft to do so. Meanwhile, flights were diverted or delayed due to poor visibility at airports in Pakistan.

A CAA spokesperson said the weather alert for Lahore has been extended till 11.30 pm on Saturday due to visibility at the Allama Iqbal International Airport being 5,000 metres. Several flights bound for Lahore were diverted to Islamabad due to poor visibility. Parts of Pakistan received rain accompanied by strong winds and thunder on Saturday evening. According to the news of ‘The Express Tribune’ newspaper, the most affected areas were three adjoining districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, where about 29 people lost their lives.

Disclaimer:IndiaTheNews has not edited this news. This news has been published from PTI-language feed.