Air scare: Air India flight AI2939 makes emergency landing at IGI

NEW DELHI: An Air India flight operating as AI 2939, travelling from Delhi to Ahmedabad, was forced to make an emergency landing at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport late Monday night after smoke was detected in the aircraft’s cargo hold, a signal that was later confirmed to be a false alarm following detailed safety checks.The flight, which had only recently recently taken off, declared an emergency shortly after the cockpit alert. The crew initiated immediate protocols and returned to Delhi, where the aircraft landed safely. All passengers and crew were promptly and safely disembarked.In an official statement, Air India said, "The crew operating flight AI2939 from Delhi to Ahmedabad on 27 November decided to return to Delhi shortly after take-off due to a smoke indicator, which was later found to be false after the aircraft underwent thorough precautionary checks. Following standard operating procedure, the aircraft landed in Delhi and the passengers and crew were disembarked safely,"The airline said that its ground staff provided immediate support and arranged alternate travel for passengers at the earliest."Our ground team at Delhi had provided immediate assistance to the passengers and alternative arrangements were made to fly them to their destination at the earliest. Any inconvenience caused due to this unforeseen situation is sincerely regretted. At Air India, the safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew remain top priority," it added.