Dubai-Kochi Air India flight diverted to Mumbai due to cabin pressure loss
The plane has been grounded and its crew put off roster by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
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A Dubai-Kochi Air India flight was diverted to Mumbai on Thursday after the pilot reported a loss in cabin pressure, PTI reported citing officials of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
The flight was at a height of 37,000 feet when the glitch occurred and oxygen masks were deployed since some passengers suffered from nose bleeding, the officials told The Indian Express. There were 247 passengers and 11 crew members on board.
The civil aviation authority has grounded the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft and put the flight’s crew off roster. It is also investigating the incident, officials said.
An Air India spokesperson confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Thursday.
“The B787 aircraft landed safely at Mumbai at 1912 hrs [7.12 pm] with 247 passengers and crew,” the statement noted, according to The Indian Express. “An alternate aircraft is being arranged to carry passengers from Mumbai to Kochi. The matter has been reported to the DGCA.”
The Air India flight was the third one to be grounded in the last three days by the DGCA. On Tuesday, air carrier Go First’s Mumbai-Leh and Srinagar-Delhi flights faced engine snags and both the planes were grounded.
Concerns over air safety have risen over the last few months with several airline companies facing repeated glitches in their planes.
Earlier this month, the DGCA had issued a showcause notice to SpiceJet seeking the company’s explanation on the “degradation of its safety margins”. The notice was issued after eight instances of technical malfunction were detected in SpiceJet aircraft within 18 days.
As recently as on Sunday, an IndiGo flight made an emergency landing in Pakistan’s Karachi airport after the pilot observed a technical glitch.
A day later, the DGCA said that an insufficient number of engineers have been certifying aircraft of various carriers before take-off. The aviation regulator made the observation after conducting spot checks. The airlines have been asked to tend to all the flaws and shortcomings by July 28.