An Air India flight travelling from Thiruvananthapuram towards Delhi, carrying several senior political leaders, was forced to make an emergency landing at Chennai airport late on Sunday, following a suspected radar malfunction.
Flight AI 2455, which took off from Thiruvananthapuram, had among its passengers, four MPs from Kerala — Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal, UDF convenor Adoor Prakash, senior Congress leader Kodikunnil Suresh, and K. Radhakrishnan — along with Tamil Nadu MP Robert Bruce.
Speaking to media persons soon after landing, K.C. Venugopal described the ordeal as a “narrow escape from a major mishap”.
He said, “There was a radar issue in the aircraft, which forced the crew to make an emergency landing. We were in the air for about one hour and ten minutes before landing. I have already informed the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) about the matter.”
Adding to the concern, passengers reported that as the aircraft approached for landing, another plane was present on the runway, creating a potentially dangerous situation.