An Air India pilot was taken off duty after his flight from the capital Delhi to the northern city of Amritsar briefly entered Pakistani airspace.
The pilot was flying an Airbus A321 on the night of 22 June and approaching Amritsar when he was instructed to hold because the runway was under inspection following a bird-strike report, the civil aviation regulator DGCA said.
During the delay, the aircraft began its approach and inadvertently entered Pakistani airspace for a short period at 10.08pm.
“After the aircraft commenced approach during radar vectoring, the aircraft briefly entered the Pakistan airspace. The event was coordinated with Pakistan ATC authorities. The aircraft finally diverted back to Delhi and safely landed,” the DGCA said.
It added that disciplinary action had been taken against the flight crew and an air traffic controller at Amritsar for not reporting the incident.
Pakistan closed its airspace to Indian airlines in April last year as diplomatic tensions between the two countries soared, eventually culminating in a four-day conflict.
Air India confirmed the airspace breach. “The crew operating flight AI479 from Delhi to Amritsar on 22 June had marginally infringed into the Pakistan airspace while manoeuvring a go-around at Amritsar airport,” the airline said in a statement. “The incident has been reported to the regulatory authorities and is being investigated internally.”
The aircraft crossed about three miles into Pakistani airspace during the manoeuvre, the Hindustan Times reported.
“Before this incident, 6E 5028, after landing at Amritsar at 4.29 pm, reported a bird hit because of which the next five arriving flights were asked to hold,” the newspaper quoted an official as saying.
“The Air India flight from Delhi was the fourth in the queue to land,” he added.
According to airport officials, the incident occurred outside of the hours when approach surveillance services were available at Amritsar.
The aircraft later attempted another approach but was unable to land and was diverted to Delhi after the crew reported low fuel.
The aircraft landed safely at 11.27pm.
Sometime later, officials said, the aircraft was dispatched again and completed its journey to Amritsar.
