NEW DELHI: An Air India flight operating on the Delhi-Amritsar sector briefly entered Pakistani airspace on Monday night after experiencing a technical snag in its navigation system, official sources confirmed on Wednesday (June 24).
The aircraft, an Airbus A321 (Flight AI-463), safely returned to Indian airspace after being alerted by Pakistani Air Traffic Control (ATC) and later landed in Amritsar after a brief diversion back to the national capital.
According to airport and aviation sources, the flight departed from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport at 9.18pm on Monday (June 22).
Shortly into its journey to Amritsar, the aircraft encountered a technical snag that disrupted its onboard navigation system, causing the flight path to drift westward across the International Border into Pakistani airspace.
"The deviation was promptly flagged by Pakistani air traffic authorities, who coordinated with the flight crew to alert them to the airspace breach.
"The pilots immediately corrected their course and guided the aircraft back into Indian territory," a senior airport official said on condition of anonymity.
However, the operational challenges did not end there. By the time the aircraft approached Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport in Amritsar around 10.30pm, the local airspace was experiencing heavy traffic congestion.
Due to the lack of an immediate landing slot and operational constraints, air traffic controllers instructed the flight to return to Delhi.
The aircraft flew back to Delhi, where it landed safely for a technical inspection.
After receiving the necessary operational clearances, the flight took off again for its destination and finally touched down safely in Amritsar at around 2.20am on Tuesday, nearly four hours behind its scheduled arrival time.
Air India and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) are yet to issue an official statement on the specific nature of the navigation system failure.
Meanwhile, aviation authorities have initiated a routine investigation to determine the exact circumstances behind the route deviation.
The development comes a month after a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight briefly entered Indian airspace due to adverse weather before being guided back to its designated route by Indian air traffic controllers. - The Statesman/ANN
