An IndiGo Airlines flight travelling from Mumbai to Varanasi was forced to make an emergency landing at Chikalthana Airport in Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar after an elderly passenger onboard died mid-air, an airport official confirmed on Monday.
The emergency landing took place on Sunday night after the woman, identified as 89-year-old Sushila Devi from Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, began feeling unwell during the flight. Despite the crew's efforts to assist her and the swift diversion to the nearest airport, the situation turned fatal before any medical help could be administered on the ground.
The official said the flight landed at the Chikalthana Airport due to a medical emergency around 10 pm. A medical team examined the woman on landing, but she had already succumbed. The MIDC CIDCO police station did the necessary formalities, and the flight proceeded for its onward journey to Varanasi, the official said. According to the airline, the woman's body was sent to the Government Medical College and Hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhjinagar.
Bird strike forces IndiGo flight to abort takeoff
Last month, a Bengaluru-bound flight was cancelled after the aircraft suffered a bird hit at the international airport in Thiruvananthapuram on March 24. The incident occurred just before takeoff, with 179 passengers on board, airport sources told news agency PTI.
IndiGo flight 6E 6629, operating from Thiruvananthapuram to Bengaluru, returned to its bay due to the bird strike, according to airport officials. Later, the aircraft resume operations after necessary maintenance.
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