India's IndiGo Airlines confirmed on Sunday (11) that one of its flights, 6E-645, en route from Amritsar to Ahmedabad, entered Pakistan airspace briefly due to adverse weather conditions.
The aircraft went up to Gujranwala in Pakistan before returning to Indian airspace safely, according to a statement issued by the airline.
The deviation into Pakistan airspace was necessary to navigate the challenging weather conditions encountered during the flight on Saturday, the airline said.
"The deviation was well coordinated with Pakistan by Amritsar ATC via telephone. The crew was in continuous contact with Pakistan on R/T and the flight landed in Ahmedabad safely post the deviation,” it added.
According to a report by Dawn newspaper, the IndiGo plane entered the airspace north of Lahore with a ground speed of 454 knots on Saturday at approximately 7:30 pm. The aircraft subsequently returned to India at 8:01 pm.
A senior official from Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said that such an occurrence is not unusual during adverse weather conditions and is "internationally allowed."
The official clarified that the aircraft's deviation into Pakistan airspace was a result of the prevailing bad weather conditions.
In May, a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight entered Indian airspace and stayed there for nearly 10 minutes due to heavy rainfall in Pakistan. The flight, PK248, was returning from Muscat on May 4 and was attempting to land at the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore.
However, heavy rainfall made it difficult for the pilot to land the Boeing 777 aircraft.
Meanwhile, several flights were diverted and delayed in Pakistan due to poor visibility at airports.
The CAA spokesman said that it had extended the weather warning for Lahore till 11:30 pm on Saturday as the visibility at the Allama Iqbal International Airport was 5,000 metres.
A number of flights heading to Lahore were diverted to Islamabad due to poor visibility. Rain accompanied by strong winds and thunder lashed parts of Pakistan on Saturday evening.
According to local media reports, the hardest-hit regions were three adjacent districts within the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, resulting in the loss of approximately 29 lives.
(PTI)
