Technical issue causes flight diversion

Aircraft was diverted to Hyderabad midway after a problem in cabin pressure

An Indigo Airlines flight (6E287), operating on the Visakhapatnam-Bengaluru sector on Tuesday, was diverted to Hyderabad midway into the flight after a technical issue with the aircraft’s cabin pressure.

The flight, operated with a 16-year-old twin-engine Airbus A320 (VT-IDV), and with a scheduled departure time of 7.50 a.m., was nearing Vijayawada at 8.25 a.m. while on the allotted track, when the crew faced the problem and had to make a rapid descent. The aircraft, which was at an altitude of approximately 31,000 ft, descended to 10,000 ft while near Vijayawada and diverted to Hyderabad maintaining this flight level. It landed at around 10 a.m.

Standard procedure

Confirming the incident, the airline’s Director, Corporate Communications, based in Gurugram, said the flight was diverted “due to excessive cabin altitude”, which could have led to passengers and crew members experiencing breathing difficulties.

The crew had followed standard operating procedures, by descending to a lower altitude and, in this case, then diverting.

A senior airline pilot, who flies Airbus aircraft, told

The Hindu that the issue, which generally occurs in older aircraft, is often related to a pressure leak from the aircraft’s seals resulting in ‘cabin altitude rising’, or when the pressurisation value set for a fixed altitude rises above that value.

This is set while the aircraft is on the ground and thereafter works automatically, he said.

When faced with such a technical issue, the crew have to initiate descent immediately in order to avoid pressurisation failure.

The pilot said a diversion and landing is necessary as the aircraft will run short of fuel while flying at a much lower altitude.

Some of the passengers were bound for Chennai. The aircraft was operated later in the evening on the Hyderabad-New Delhi sector as flight 6E6685.