Pakistan rejected IndiGo’s request to use its airspace during turbulence
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New Delhi/ Mumbai: Pakistan’s Lahore Air Traffic Control rejected a request by India’s IndiGo flight to briefly use the neighhouring country’s airspace to avoid a severe turbulence on Wednesday, NDTV reported citing sources.
The Delhi-Srinagar flight, carrying more than 220 people, including Trinamool Congress MPs, was flying over Amritsar when it began facing turbulence from sudden hailstorm.
In the difficult situation, the pilot sought Lahore Air Traffic Control's permission to detour turbulence by entering the neighbouring country’s airspace.
After the Lahore ATC rejected the pilot’s request, the pilot reported the ‘emergency’ to air traffic control at Srinagar airport before landing safely.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is currently probing the details of turbulence that flight 6E 2142 encountered.
After Pakistan denied permission to use airspace, the Indian aircraft operated on the original flight path where it faced the turbulence, according to the report.
Following tensions stemming from Pahalgam massacre, Pakistan has closed its airspace for Indian carriers, even as India shut its airspace for Pakistan airlines.
IndiGo on Thursday reported that its flight 6E 2142 from Delhi to Srinagar on May 21, 2025 navigated a hailstorm, before landing at Srinagar International Airport.
The airline also stated that passengers reported no injuries, adding that the aircraft is ‘currently undergoing necessary inspection and maintenance in Srinagar and will resume operations once all clearances have been secured’.
A five-member delegation of Trinamool Congress comprising Derek O'Brien, Nadimul Haque, Sagarika Ghose, Manas Bhunia, and Mamata Thakur was on the flight.
Trinamool Congress leader Sagarika Ghose reportedly said: ‘It was a near-death experience. I thought my life was over. People were screaming, praying and panicking’.
‘Hats off to the pilot who brought us through that. When we landed, we saw the nose of the plane had blown up,’ she reportedly said.
Videos circulating on the social media showed passengers praying just as the plane was violently swaying.
