'Saved by luck': Air India flight with Kerala MPs ‘came frighteningly close to tragedy’, airline responds

A Delhi-bound Air India flight from Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, carrying several Members of Parliament including Congress secretary KC Venugopal, was forced to divert to Chennai on Sunday following a suspected technical fault.

In a post on X, Venugopal described the incident aboard flight AI 2455 as a “harrowing journey”, saying passengers had come “frighteningly close to tragedy”.

“Air India flight AI 2455 from Trivandrum to Delhi – carrying myself, several MPs, and hundreds of passengers, came frighteningly close to tragedy today. What began as a delayed departure turned into a harrowing journey. 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,” he wrote.

“In that split second, the Captain’s quick decision to pull up saved every life on board. The flight landed safely on the second attempt. We were saved by skill and luck,” he added, warning that “passenger safety cannot depend on luck”.

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The Congress MP tagged the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Ministry of Civil Aviation, calling for a full investigation, accountability, and safeguards to prevent similar incidents.

Air India responds

Air India later issued a clarification, stating that the diversion was precautionary due to a suspected technical issue and poor weather. It said the go-around was instructed by Chennai air traffic control (ATC) during the first landing attempt, not because another aircraft was on the runway.

“Dear Mr Venugopal, we would like to clarify that the diversion to Chennai was precautionary due to a suspected technical issue and poor weather conditions. A go-around was instructed by Chennai ATC during the first attempted landing at Chennai airport, not because of the presence of another aircraft on the runway. Our pilots are well-trained to handle such situations, and in this case, they followed standard procedures throughout the flight,” the airline said.

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It added, “We understand that such an experience can be unsettling and regret the inconvenience the diversion may have caused to you. However, safety is always our priority. Thank you for your understanding.”

Flight data from Flightradar showed the aircraft took off from Thiruvananthapuram at 8:17 pm, landed in Chennai at 10:35pm, then departed at 1:40 am before reaching Delhi at 3:58 am.

The incident comes amid heightened scrutiny of Air India following a deadly crash on 12 June that killed 260 people, including 19 on the ground. More recently, passengers on a San Francisco–Mumbai service reported finding cockroaches onboard, an issue the airline acknowledged but downplayed, saying that “despite our regular fumigation efforts, insects can sometimes enter an aircraft during ground operations”.