Guwahati: A technical glitch with the aircraft caused an indigo flight from Sharjah to Hyderabad to detour to Pakistan on Sunday.
The airline has stated that all on board the aircraft are safe and that a precautionary landing had to be made in Karachi.
The Indian airline added that a second plane would be sent to Karachi in order to return the passengers to Hyderabad.
A release from IndiGo read, “IndiGo flight 6E-1406, operating from Sharjah to Hyderabad was diverted to Karachi. The pilot observed a technical defect. Necessary procedures were followed and as a precaution the aircraft was diverted to Karachi. An additional flight is being sent to Karachi to fly the passengers to Hyderabad.”
According to national media reports, which cited unnamed government sources, an engine failure was discovered in Engine 2, the right engine of the IndiGo Airbus, prompting a precautionary landing.
It may be noted that an Indian airline has had to land in Karachi unexpectedly twice in the past two weeks.
Earlier this month, a SpiceJet flight from Delhi to Dubai was diverted to Karachi due to a fuel indicator light in the cockpit that was allegedly malfunctioning.
Later, a replacement flight sent from India carried all 138 of the passengers to Dubai.