The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on Monday (August 11, 2025) that the flight coming from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi to Delhi was safely rescued in Chennai on Sunday (August 10, 2025) due to the possibility of malfunction in the weather radar of the aircraft. This statement of DGCA has come when some MPs aboard the aircraft expressed concern about security

On Sunday, Air India said that flight number AI 2455 was turned towards Chennai due to the possibility of technical fault. At the same time, senior Congress leader K.C. Venugopal claimed that the flight had dangerously reached very close to the tragedy.

Political controversy over aircraft change

Political dispute has also arisen over the incident of changing the aircraft. Amit Malviya, the head of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT cell, said on Monday that Venugopal has claimed that Air India flight had to stop ‘Landing’ in Chennai, because there was a second aircraft on the runway and at the same time, the airline has denied it immediately, so one of the two is presenting the facts wrongly.

In the same background, the DGCA on Monday issued a detailed statement on the incident saying that during the flight, the A-320 aircraft VT-TNL faced medium level turbulance (shocking aircraft due to changes in air speed).

Fears of malfunction in weather radar

The aviation regulator said, ‘The crew noticed that the meteorological information visible on the weather radar is not accurate. The aircraft was diverted towards Chennai due to the possibility of malfunction in the weather radar. He said that there was no shortage during engineering investigation, but as a precaution, ‘WX weather radar transirswar was replaced’.

The statement said that to avoid landing at the airport with excess weight by burning additional fuel, the aircraft made a circle in the air for 43 minutes from 21:25 pm to 22:08 pm in 25 sea miles north-east direction from Chennai with the permission of the Air Traffic Controller (ATC).

Information about debris on the left side of the runway

The DGCA said, “When the aircraft was allowed to land on runway 25 in Chennai, the ATC asked not to land the aircraft at 22:19, as the Gulf Air flight GFA 053 (Chennai-Bahren), departing, reported the debris on the left side of the runway. Apron Control examined the runway and nothing was found.

The regulator said, “After this the aircraft was allowed to land at the airport and the aircraft made a safe landing at 22:39 pm Indian time.” Air India flight AI 2455 was scheduled to depart on Sunday at 19:15 pm, but due to late arrival of the aircraft from Delhi, it left for 49 minutes late and flew from Thiruvananthapuram at 20:04 pm.

Chennai turned aircraft instead of Bengaluru

On Monday, Air India said that the crew of Thiruvananthapuram-Delhi flight followed all the protocols and the attempt to land for the first time had to be stopped due to the notice of suspected external debris on the runway. The airline said that the decision to turn the aircraft towards Chennai was a precautionary step and it was taken due to suspicious technical problems keeping in view the safety of passengers and crew. The flight was turned to Chennai instead of Bengaluru, as the weather in Chennai was clear.

Senior Congress leader and Chairman of Public Accounts Committee of Parliament K.K. C. Venugopal claimed on Sunday night that the Air India aircraft, bringing him and many other MPs from Thiruvananthapuram, had reached very close to the tragedy.

Air India responded to Congress leader’s statement

The Congress leader said, “While waiting for the permission to descend for about two hours, we kept circling the airport and after that when an attempt was made to land at the airport for the first time, a heartbreaking moment came and it was told that another aircraft is present on the runway. In a moment, the aircraft flew up and saved everyone’s life in a moment. In the second attempt, the aircraft landed safely.

Responding to Venugopal on ‘X’, Air India said, “We would like to clarify that the path change towards Chennai was taken precautionary due to suspicious technical problems and bad weather.”

Aviation safety paramount

Malaviya tagged the answer of Air India in his post on ‘X’, saying, ‘Aviation security is paramount and the social media posts of people who are responsible cannot be ignored. If the allegation is true, Chennai ATC and Air India will have to answer this. If not, Venugopal should bear the consequences, including putting them in the ‘No-Fly’ list to spread false information.

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