DGCA To Probe 'False Cargo Smoke Warning' on Delhi-Kolkata IndiGo Flight

The flight carrying more than 160 people had landed safely at the Kolkata airport.

Initially, the pilots of the airline declared 'May Day' suspecting smoke in the cargo hold.

(Photo Courtesy: Facebook/IndiGo)

An IndiGo flight from Delhi to Kolkata suffered a "false cargo smoke warning" before landing on Sunday, 21 August, and aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will probe the incident.

The flight carrying more than 160 people landed safely at the Kolkata airport.

After arrival at the airport, inspections were carried out in the Airbus aircraft and the "warning was confirmed as spurious", IndiGo said in a statement.

Initially, the pilots of the airline declared 'May Day' suspecting smoke in the cargo hold. Later, the 'May Day' call was cancelled and the flight landed safely, DGCA chief Arun Kumar told news agency PTI.

May Day call is declared when there is distress and once it is declared, then the preparations for emergency landing of the flight are done at the airport. "It was a spurious warning," Kumar added.

According to IndiGo's statement, necessary rectifications on the detection system are in progress.

The "false cargo smoke warning" happened on flight 6E-2513 (VT-IJA) and landing was prioritised at Kolkata airport and the pilot followed the standard operating procedure, IndiGo said in the statement.

In the past few months, there have been instances involving various airlines facing technical issues.

IndiGo is the country's largest airline and had a market share of 58.8 percent in July.