Dubai-bound Indian plane makes emergency landing at Karachi airport

Published July 5, 2022
An SpiceJet aircraft made an emergency landing at the Karachi airport. — AFP/File
An SpiceJet aircraft made an emergency landing at the Karachi airport. — AFP/File

A Dubai-bound flight from New Delhi made an emergency landing at Karachi's Jinnah International Airport on Tuesday, according to Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesman Saifur Rehman.

The official confirmed that the airplane, a Boeing 737, had reported an oil leak and repairs were under way. The passengers aboard, nearly 100, have been safely moved to the transit lounge.

SpiceJet confirmed the development on its Twitter handle, but said there was no emergency declared as the landing was normal.

Dawn.com reached out to Rehman, the CAA spokesman, to comment on SpiceJet's tweet about the landing being normal. He said if the plane landed in Karachi — which is not its destination — then it will be called an emergency landing. He said the pilot contacted the control tower here and requested the landing.

According to a report by NDTV, SpiceJet flight B737 had taken off from Delhi but was diverted to Karachi midway due to an "indicator light malfunctioning".

"The aircraft landed safely at [sic] Karachi and passengers were safely disembarked. No emergency was declared and the aircraft made a normal landing. There was no earlier report of any malfunction with the aircraft," the report quoted the airline as saying in a statement.

It assured that an alternative aircraft had been sent to Karachi which would take the passengers to Dubai.

Meanwhile, the Directorate General Of Civil Aviation was quoted as saying that the pilots had observed an unusual reduction in fuel quantity and suspected a leak.

However, no evidence of the fuel leak was found after the aircraft landed.

Separately, the CAA spokesman said "all flight operations at the Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, are normal".

Opinion

Editorial

A new direction
Updated 18 Mar, 2025

A new direction

While kinetic response may temporarily disable violent actors, it will not address underlying factors providing ideological fuel to insurgencies.
BTK settlement
18 Mar, 2025

BTK settlement

WHEREVER the money goes, controversy follows. The PMLN-led federal government, which recently announced that it will...
Sugar crisis
18 Mar, 2025

Sugar crisis

GREED knows no bounds. But the avarice of those involved in the sugar business — from manufacturers to retailers...
NAP revival
Updated 17 Mar, 2025

NAP revival

This bloody cycle of violence will continue unless action is complemented with social, economic, political efforts in Balochistan and KP.
New reality
17 Mar, 2025

New reality

THE US retreat from global climate finance commitments could not have come at a worse time. Pakistan faces an...
Killer traffic
17 Mar, 2025

Killer traffic

MYSTERIOUS and unstoppable. It is these words that perhaps best describe the recent surge in traffic-related...