Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, May 23: Passengers on board an IndiGo flight from New Delhi to Srinagar had a harrowing experience on Wednesday night after the aircraft was caught in a violent hailstorm and dust storm, leading to severe turbulence and mid-air emergency protocols.

The flight, which was cruising at 36,000 feet near Pathankot, faced intense weather disturbances due to a massive storm over Delhi-NCR. The pilots requested permission from both Indian and Pakistani authorities to divert into Pakistan's airspace to avoid the storm, but were denied access due to strained diplomatic ties.

According to a DGCA statement, after the denial, the crew initially considered returning to Delhi but chose to continue to Srinagar as they were already too close to the storm system. The aircraft flew directly into the hailstorm, enduring extreme turbulence and hail impact, triggering warnings on critical flight systems and panic among the 220 passengers on board.

At one point, the plane reportedly descended rapidly at a rate of 8,500 feet per minute. The pilots manually flew the aircraft through the storm, eventually declaring a PAN-PAN (urgency) call to Srinagar ATC, and landed safely with no injuries reported.

A post-flight inspection revealed damage to the aircraft’s nose radome. The DGCA has launched a probe into the incident.