An AirAsia India flight that was travelling from Amritsar to Bengaluru was forced to make an unscheduled landing at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad, after a smoke warning was issued.
According to media reports, the flight was forced to land in Hyderabad at around 9:30 pm on Saturday night and could only leave past midnight at around 12:30 am on Sunday, as an inspection had to be carried out.
Air Traffic Control (ATC) reportedly declared an emergency and over 100 passengers who were on board, had to disembark the flight when the inspection was taking place.
"AirAsia India flight from Amritsar to Bengaluru experienced a cargo smoke warning. As a result the crew elected to divert to Hyderabad, the nearest airport as per laid down procedures," a spokesperson of the airline was quoted as saying.
However, the spokesperson added that the warning turned out to be 'spurious'.
Just last month, a four-month-old child took ill and died aboard a Bengaluru-Patna IndiGo flight even as the flight was diverted to Hyderabad.
The baby boy, who suddenly took ill mid-air, was rushed to the Apollo Clinic at the airport but doctors declared him brought dead.
the flight, which was on its way to Patna, was diverted after the child's parents alerted the crew about his deteriorating condition. The flight made the landing at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad at 7:30 am.
However, the child died before he could be provided any medical aid at the airport clinic.
The Hyderabad airport is one of the best in the country, as in March last year, the RGIA secured the first position in the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) passengers' survey in the 5-15 million passengers per annum (MPPA) category for the year 2016.
GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) oversees the operation of the airport.
IANS inputs