SpiceJet passengers enroute Mangaluru stranded at Cochin airport overnight!

Mangaluru: A SpiceJet flight from Dubai to Mangaluru was diverted and landed at the Cochin International Airport due to an alleged technical glitch on July 8 night.

The flight with 189 passengers had departed from Dubai on July 8 at 5 pm and should have arrived at Mangaluru Airport at 9:30 pm.

A passenger on the flight, Abdul Rahiman Jokatte, said that when the flight was about to land at Mangaluru International Airport the pilot made an announcement saying that the flight will be heading towards Coimbatore for fuel refill. A few minutes later another announcement was made saying that the flight would land at Cochin airport.

After the flight landed at Kochi the authorities informed the passengers to rest for some time till another pilot came as the shift of the Dubai-Mangaluru pilots ended, he said.

Finally, on July 9 morning the authorities asked the passengers to board the plane at 8:30 am, however, the flight departed from Kochi airport only at 10 am and landed at Mangaluru airport at 10:50 am, he added.

It may be recalled that Spicejet airline suffered many such incidents of technical malfunction in the last few days.

On June 19, an engine on SpiceJet’s Delhi-bound aircraft carrying 185 passengers caught fire soon after taking off from the Patna airport, following which it made an emergency landing within minutes. The engine malfunctioned because of a bird hit.

In another incident, the same day, a flight for Jabalpur had to return to Delhi due to cabin pressurization issues.

Fuselage door warnings lit up on two separate planes while taking off on June 24 and June 25, forcing them to abandon their journeys and return.

On July 2, a SpiceJet flight heading to Jabalpur returned to Delhi after the crew members observed smoke in the cabin at around 5,000-feet altitude