Ahmedabad-Bound IndiGo Flight Strays Into Pakistan Amid Inclement Weather

An IndiGo Airlines flight from Amritsar to Ahmedabad strayed into Pakistan near Lahore due to bad weather and went up to Gujranwala before heading back to Indian airspace without any mishap, according to a media report on Sunday.

According to flight radar, the Indian plane with a ground speed of 454 knots entered north of Lahore at about 7:30 pm on Saturday and returned to India at 8:01 pm, the Dawn newspaper reported. There was no immediate comment from the airline.

A senior official of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said that it was not unusual as it was "internationally allowed" in bad weather conditions, the report added. In May, a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight entered Indian airspace and stayed there for nearly 10 minutes due to heavy rainfall in Pakistan. The flight, PK248, was returning from Muscat on May 4 and was attempting to land at the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore.

However, heavy rainfall made it difficult for the pilot to land the Boeing 777 aircraft. Meanwhile, several flights were diverted and delayed in Pakistan due to poor visibility at airports.
The CAA spokesman said that it had extended the weather warning for Lahore till 11:30 pm on Saturday as the visibility at the Allama Iqbal International Airport was 5,000 metres. A number of flights heading to Lahore were diverted to Islamabad due to poor visibility.

Rain accompanied by strong winds and thunder lashed parts of Pakistan on Saturday evening. The worst hit areas were the three adjoining districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province where about 29 people were killed, according to a report by The Express Tribune newspaper.