"Pilot announced communication problem with radar system": Congress MP Suresh demands inquiry after AI flight diversion

New Delhi [India], August 11 (ANI): Congress MP K Suresh on Monday called for an inquiry by Air India and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) following a precautionary diversion of flight AI2455 from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi due to a suspected technical issue.

Suresh was one of the 160 passengers travelling to Delhi from Chennai on the Air India flight that diverted.

The Congress MP said that the pilot had announced that there was a communication issue with the radar system.

Yesterday, at 7:45 PM, the Air India flight started from Trivandrum airport to Delhi... After 1 hour and 10 minutes, the pilot announced that there was a communication problem with the radar system, so we had to go back to Chennai, he said.

The MP further described the unsettling moments before landing at Chennai airport.

Then, the pilot announced that we were going to land at Chennai airport, but before touching the runway, the flight again went up at high speed. All the passengers panicked. After 45 minutes of flying over the airport, the pilot announced that we were going to land, and the flight landed safely. 160 passengers landed safely at the Delhi airport around 4:30 AM... Air India and DGCA should inquire into this matter, K Suresh said.

Air India on Monday clarified that flight AI2455 operating from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi was diverted to Chennai as a precautionary measure due to a suspected technical issue and weather conditions en route to Delhi. The airline said the decision was taken in the best interest of passenger and crew safety.

In a fresh statement, Air India Spokesperson said, Air India clarifies that flight AI2455 of 10 August operating from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi was diverted to Chennai as a precautionary measure after the pilot detected a suspected technical issue and in view of the weather conditions en route to Delhi. It was decided to divert to Chennai instead of Bengaluru as the weather in Chennai was clear. As the aircraft was overweight for an immediate landing the pilot had to hold over Chennai to reduce weight and no emergency was declared. During the first landing approach, the ATC asked the pilots to initiate a go-around as another aircraft that had taken off from the same runway had reported a suspected foreign object debris (FOD) on the runway

After following a standard go-around, the flight made a normal and safe landing. We would like to reiterate that the decision to divert to Chennai was taken in the best interest of the safety of our passengers and crew. Our crew are well trained to handle such situations, and in this case, they followed the protocols during the entire flight. All the affected passengers were accommodated on alternate flights to Delhi and the said aircraft has also resumed commercial operations. Air India deeply regrets any inconvenience caused by the diversion and consequent delay, the spokesperson added.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday released a statement on the diversion of Air India flight AI2455 Thiruvananthapuram - Delhi on August 10, following Congress MP KC Venugopal described it as frighteningly close to tragedy.

The DGCA said that the diversion was due to bad weather, and the crew suspected a weather RADAR malfunction. The flight circled over Chennai to burn extra fuel, and it aborted the first landing attempt at Chennai as instructed by ATC after a departing Gulf Air flight reported debris on the runway. Upon landing, the engineering inspection found no deficiency, but as a precautionary measure, the radar transreceiver of the aircraft was replaced, the DGCA said in a statement today.

On 10.08.2025, Air India A320 aircraft VT-TNL was scheduled to operate flight AI2455 (Thiruvananthapuram - Delhi) with a scheduled time of departure as 19:15 IST. Due to the late arrival of aircraft from Delhi (Weather Diversion+consequential+commercial), the aircraft departed Thiruvananthapuram at 20:04 IST, i.e. with a total delay of 49 minutes, the statement read. (ANI)

Disclaimer: This news article is a direct feed from ANI and has not been edited by the News Nation team. The news agency is solely responsible for its content.