A mid-air scare left passengers panicking and praying as a Fly91 flight remained airborne for four hours, much beyond its travel time, before a diversion and safe landing.

The flight from India's Hyderabad to Hubballi, which usually takes 90 minutes, circled in the air for nearly four hours due to bad weather. After it was unable to land, the flight was diverted to Bengaluru and made a safe landing at the Kempegowda International Airport. Airport officials later confirmed that all 22 passengers onboard the flight were safe.

Videos circulating on social media show the passengers on the flight panicking and praying mid-air, with flyers joining their hands and sobbing. In one of the videos shared by a flyer, you can hear passengers repeatedly saying, 'Oh my god.' While the video did not capture the passengers' faces, the shaky video recorded their wails.

The flyers panic and scream, and their cries escalate after some point. “Hello…what happened, madam? Why is he doing like that?” Amid the chaos, one of the passengers asks.

Another video shot by a passenger inside the flight shows a woman beside him sobbing and joining her hands in prayer, with tears in her eyes. In the second clip, the woman, who still seems distraught, pans the camera to show other passengers.

In the third clip shot by the same flyer, the pilot reassures the flyers that their “safety is paramount.” The pilot says they would only attempt to land if the weather conditions allowed it; otherwise, the flight would be diverted.

“But we still have another 30-45 minutes of endurance, and we are holding. We will keep you updated. And have patience and kindly follow the instructions so far given,” the pilot can be heard saying

Sources said that flight IC3401 had departed from the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad at around 3 pm and was scheduled to land in Hubbali at around 4.30 pm but couldn't owing to unfavorable weather, the PTI news agency reported. Regarding its diversion, an airport official said that these are standard safety measures.

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‘General practice to circle in air waiting for weather to improve’: Airline

In a statement released after the incident, the airline refuted reports that the flight had developed a technical snag. “Information in some news reports pointing to a technical issue faced by the aircraft is false and baseless,” it said.

The airline maintained that bad weather conditions had diverted the flight. The airline and officials also stated that the flight remaining airborne and circling until the weather improved is a standard protocol.

The flight had hovered over Hubballi, located around 400 km from Bengaluru, for about an hour, waiting for an improvement in the weather conditions before it was diverted. “This is general practice. Aircraft circle in the air for some time, waiting for the weather to improve. It is the pilot's decision,” PTI cited an official as saying.

The flight finally made a safe landing at around 6.30 pm and was flown back to Hubballi at 11 pm after the situation improved, the official said. FLY91 has a highly skilled team of pilots, cabin crew, and ground staff who are trained to manage any situation that may arise. The regional airline has an impeccable safety record,” the airline said.

Source: Hindustan Times