Close shave for 70 as flight from Jaipur makes emergency landing in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: Passengers on board a Jaipur-Hyderabad-Bengaluru AirAsia flight had a narrow escape on Tuesday afternoon after the aircraft made an emergency landing at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA).
The A320 flight, i51543, took off from Jaipur at 11.56 am with 70 passengers on board. Just minutes before the scheduled arrival at the RGIA, the aircraft encountered a technical snag due to which a full emergency landing was declared at the airport once the pilot informed about the snag.
"AirAsia India aircraft VT-IXC operating as i51543 from Jaipur to Hyderabad on May 26, 2020, encountered a technical issue and carried out a precautionary engine shut down," said an AirAsia spokesperson.
Aviation sources said there could have been a fuel leak, but they were examining the aircraft for any such issue. The flight, which was scheduled to land at the RGIA at 1.40 pm, made an emergency landing at 1.26 pm. As per protocol, all operations were shut down and emergency services were kept on standby till the flight made a safe landing at RGIA.
"We are carrying out a detailed inspection of the aircraft, having informed DGCA we are assisting in the investigation to establish the cause," said the spokesperson.