Indian airline lands in Karachi due to medical emergency

KARACHI: A flight of an Indian airline made an emergency landing at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, due to a medical emergency, said the Pakistan Airport Authority (PAA) on Saturday.

The flight, operated by IndiGo Airlines, had departed from New Delhi and was en route to Jeddah with 186 passengers on board.

According to the PAA’s statement, the “medical emergency landing” took place at 10:54 PM on Friday night. The aircraft was an Airbus A321-271NX with flight number 6E63.

Before landing, the pilot contacted Karachi’s air traffic control and requested a safe landing due to the passenger’s serious condition, even though the passenger was being given oxygen on the plane, sources said.

The aircraft was an Airbus A321-271NX with flight number 6E63.

Following the emergency landing, the passenger, a 55-year-old Indian man who fell seriously ill on board, was provided with immediate medical assistance, according to Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) sources.

The flight remained at the Karachi airport until the passenger’s condition improved. It resumed its journey after a doctor declared the passenger fit for travel. The PAA confirmed that the flight departed from Karachi airport at 2:00 AM.

Indian aircraft have previously made emergency landings at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, due to various onboard emergencies. In July 2022, two Indian flights made emergency landings, one of which was en route to Dubai when technical problems with its lights forced the captain to divert to Karachi.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has faced similar situations. In September, a PIA flight from Muscat to Peshawar encountered technical issues shortly after takeoff, prompting an emergency landing in Karachi. Flight PK 260, which departed Muscat at 5:22 AM local time, experienced a hydraulic system malfunction approximately 30 minutes into the flight while traversing Pakistani airspace.