PM’s flight diverted

As cyclone Phailin built up in the Bay of Bengal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s flight back from Indonesia was diverted on Saturday afternoon as a measure of abundant precaution.

Though the aircraft was scheduled to land in New Delhi three hours before the cyclone’s landfall in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, Air India One was diverted to fly from south of Chennai instead of sticking to its original flight path over Kolkata.

Despite the detour, the flight landed about 15 minutes ahead of schedule.