New Delhi: An IndiGo flight that reached Srinagar from Navi Mumbai narrowly escaped an accident at Srinagar International Airport on Friday morning. While moving towards the parking bay after landing, the aircraft collided with the pillar of the Visual Docking Guidance System (VDGS) installed there. It is a matter of relief that all the passengers and crew members on board the plane are completely safe in this incident and no one was injured. Even after the accident, airport operations remained completely normal and there was no impact on the movement of other flights. Officials say that under safety standards, orders have been given for a detailed investigation into the matter and the exact cause of the accident will be known only after the investigation report comes.
Passengers evacuated by manual stairs
According to the information, IndiGo flight number 6E 225 (VT-NOG) was being parked at bay number six at around 9:02 am. During this time the aircraft came in contact with the VDGS pole.
Immediately after the incident, all passengers and crew were safely evacuated using manual ladders using caution.
The face of Srinagar airport will change with Rs 1,667 crore
Amidst this incident, a big news has also come to light regarding Srinagar International Airport. An expansion project worth Rs 1,667 crore has been approved to strengthen the airport infrastructure and increase passenger capacities.
According to the information given by the Jammu and Kashmir Government to the Home Ministry, this Civil Enclave expansion will increase the annual capacity of the airport to handle one crore passengers. The deadline to complete this ambitious new terminal project has been set for the year 2031.
Other incidents of Indigo in recent times
This is not an isolated incident involving IndiGo amid growing concerns over security in the aviation sector. Earlier on Thursday, another international Indigo flight (6E 1302) going from Doha to Bengaluru also had to be suddenly diverted. The plane had to make an emergency landing in Muscat after the chief pilot of the Airbus A321 aircraft suddenly fell ill in mid-air.