Air India Flight’s Mid-Air Scare Ends in Safe Landing in Chennai

Chennai:

An Air India flight AI 2455, en route from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi on Sunday, 10 August 2025, was forced to divert to Chennai following a suspected technical fault, prompting a nerve racking diversion and an emergency landing that involved four Members of Parliament from Kerala among the passengers.

The Airbus A320, which departed shortly after 8 pm, encountered a radar or flight signal malfunction approximately an hour into its journey. This, in combination with adverse weather en route, prompted the captain to divert to Chennai for a precautionary landing. The flight landed safely, and the aircraft is now undergoing inspection and necessary checks.      

On board were four Kerala MPs, K.C. Venugopal, Kodikkunnil Suresh, Adoor Prakash and K. Radhakrishnan, along with a Tamil Nadu MP, Robert Bruce, all of whom disembarked safely.   

Describing the ordeal to the media immediately after landing, K.C. Venugopal characterised it as a “narrow escape from a major mishap”. He recounted that turbulence struck shortly after take-off, and about an hour later a fault was announced that led to the diversion. As the aircraft first attempted to land at Chennai, passengers observed another aircraft occupying the runway. The pilot aborted that attempt, circling for around thirty minutes before finally landing safely.    

Venugopal took to X (formerly Twitter) to share a more detailed account:

“Air India flight AI 2455 from Trivandrum to Delhi, carrying myself, several MPs, and hundreds of passengers came frighteningly close to tragedy today… Shortly after take-off, we were hit by unprecedented turbulence. About an hour later, the Captain announced a flight signal fault and diverted to Chennai… For nearly two hours, we circled the airport awaiting clearance to land, until a heart-stopping moment during our first attempt, another aircraft was reportedly on the same runway… We were saved by skill and luck. Passenger safety cannot depend on luck.”    

Venugopal subsequently urged the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Ministry of Civil Aviation to launch an urgent investigation into the incident to ensure accountability and prevent repetition of such a near-miss.  

Air India, however, offered clarification, emphasising that the diversion to Chennai was a precaution taken in the interests of safety, citing both the suspected technical issue and weather. The airline also stated that a go-around was ordered by air traffic control, not due to another aircraft on the runway, and affirmed that its crew followed standard procedures throughout. They regretted the inconvenience caused and noted that support and onward arrangements for passengers were being provided.    

In all, though the passengers, including MPs, were spared any harm, the episode has heightened concerns about aviation safety and coordination, with official inquiries expected to shed light on what nearly became a serious aviation mishap.