Delhi-Mumbai flight diverted to Ahmedabad amid air traffic congestion

AHMEDABAD: The journey from Delhi to Mumbai which usually takes around two hours turned out to be a six-hour long tiring experience for passengers who travelled via Air India flight, AI-665, on Wednesday. After a delayed departure from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport by 45 minutes, the flight was expected to land in Mumbai at around 11am. However, owing to heavy air traffic congestion in Mumbai, the flight was diverted to Ahmedabad for refuelling.
Confirming this, a well-placed source said, “The flight departed from Delhi at 8.45am and was air-bound by 9.08am. However, the flight could not get landing clearance at Mumbai airport. As a consequence, it had to make a landing at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) airport in Ahmedabad at 12.06pm. After re-fuelling, the flight once again departed for Mumbai at 12.51pm.”
The source further confirmed that the flight finally landed at 2.45pm at Mumbai airport.
Operations of a few other flights along the Ahmedabad-Mumbai sector have also been affected due to the air traffic congestion at the Mumbai airport, confirmed sources.