Panic gripped the tarmac and the skies over Tiruchirappalli on Monday afternoon as a Dubai-bound Air India Express flight was forced to abort its journey and circle the city for nearly two hours before making a safe emergency landing.
Flight IX 611, carrying 152 passengers and crew, had just departed for Dubai at 1:55 PM—already delayed by over an hour—when pilots detected a technical glitch mid-air. Instead of proceeding to the UAE, the aircraft entered a holding pattern, looping over the Tiruchy and Pudukottai airspace to burn off excess fuel and lighten the load for a safe touchdown.
For those on the ground, the sight of the low-flying aircraft circling repeatedly sparked concern, recalling memories of a similar hydraulic failure incident involving the same airline in October 2024.
"The flight was halfway through its climb when the snag was noticed," said Airport Director SS Raju. "The pilots decided to return immediately but had to circle to ensure landing weight safety."
Inside the terminal, anxiety mounted among relatives who were tracking the flight online. "We saw the plane taking off on the app, but instead of heading over the ocean, it just kept drawing circles over the city," said one relative waiting outside the airport. "That’s when we knew something was wrong."
Emergency protocols were swiftly activated on the ground, with fire tenders and ambulances deployed along the runway as a precaution. The Boeing 737 eventually touched down without incident at 3:53 PM.
Airport officials confirmed that all passengers were safe and were deboarded into the terminal. While the airline did not immediately specify the nature of the technical snag, arrangements were made to transfer the stranded passengers to a replacement aircraft to complete their journey to Dubai later in the evening.
This is the second major scare involving an Air India Express flight on this route in recent memory, following the October 2024 incident where a flight circled for hours due to a hydraulic issue, eventually landing safely.
