IndiGo Flight Declares ‘PAN PAN’ Emergency Amid Severe Turbulence; Lands Safely in Srinagar

IndiGo Flight Declares ‘PAN PAN’ Emergency: The crew of the Delhi-Srinagar IndiGo flight requesting for Weather deviation from Indian Air Force Northern Control as it was going through severe turbulence and hailstorm on Wednesday, and later contacting Lahore ATC to make a brief entry into Pakistani airspace, currently a no-fly zone for Indian aircraft, to circumvent the storm. These requests were rejected, and the flight crew chose to fly through the inclement weather en route to Srinagar, according to the pilot's statement to the DGCA, which is investigating the occurrence.

Neither the Indian Air Force nor the Ministry of Defence responded to the mails seeking their comments on this matter.

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“While cruising at FL360 (36,000 feet), aircraft entered hailstorm and severe turbulence near Pathankot. As per crew statement, they requested Northern control (IAF) for deviation towards left (International Border) due to weather on the route, however it was not approved. Later crew contacted Lahore to enter into their airspace to avoid the weather but the same was refused too. Crew initially attempted to return back but as they were close to the thunderstorm cloud, they decided to penetrate the weather. Subsequently, they encountered hailstorm and severe turbulence. Crew chose to continue at same heading to exit the weather by the shortest route towards Srinagar (sic),” the DGCA said on Friday.

Following the terror attack at Pahalgam and a deterioration of diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan, Pakistan on April 24 shut down its airspace to Indian aircraft and airlines for at least a month, thereby disallowing them to overfly its territory. In the blackout of Indian airspace, the Lahore ATC did not allow its use by the IndiGo Delhi-Srinagar flight notwithstanding the very urgent weather situation this aircraft was momentarily facing.

Just saw some scary turbulence visuals of the Indigo Delhi-Srinagar flight and came across this pic tweeted by @sidhant , saw TMC RS MP Nadimul Haque, on checking realised their entire delegation headed to Poonch was indeed on the flight.
Glad to hear that all the passengers and… pic.twitter.com/sQASKyIyz5

— Priyanka Chaturvedi???????? (@priyankac19) May 21, 2025

The aircraft Airbus A321neo with the flight number 6E 2142 bearing 220-plus souls acting as a vehicle for five-member TMC delegation was stampeding through a severe hailstorm en-route from Delhi to Srinagar thereby making life-threatening ones for the occupants of the aircraft for about few minutes. Surely, the pilots went on to manually fly through downpour of widely varying speeds and altitudes to finally rest at Srinagar airport. No passenger or member of the crew on board sustained any injury; however, there was visible and considerable damage caused to the aircraft's nose comprising the radome. The radome is an aerodynamic weatherproof covering for the aircraft's radar antenna. It is made of materials that preserve and transmit radar radio waves with minimal interference.

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According to the flight trackers, the aircraft took off from Delhi at 5:13 pm on Wednesday. Approximately 45 minutes into the flight, while over the area of Pathankot, the crew switched on the seat belt signs to ensure passengers were seated. This was immediately followed by severe turbulence lasting for a few minutes, with a hailstorm bombarding the airframe. Around 6:30 pm, the aircraft touched down at Srinagar airport. Due to damage sustained on the nose of the aircraft, a maintenance and inspection requirement grounded the aircraft in Srinagar.

As per pilots' statement to the regulator for air safety, during their navigation into the thunderstorm, the aircraft sounded several technical warnings. These included warnings of “angle of attack fault, alternate law protection lost, and backup speed scale unreliable”.

“Due to updraft and down draft encountered by the aircraft, the autopilot tripped and aircraft speed had wide variations. As a result, maximum operating speed/maximum operating mach (VMO/MMO) warnings and repeated stall warnings were triggered. During this period, the aircraft rate of descent reached 8500 fpm (feet per minute). Crew flew the aircraft manually till they exited the hailstorm,” the DGCA said based on the crew’s statement.

The regulator added that the crew made a safe landing after completing all checklist items and announcing "PAN-PAN" to Srinagar ATC. They also asked for radar vectors. The phrase "possible assistance needed," or PAN-PAN or PAN call, is used to convey an urgent situation that may call for assistance but is not a life-threatening emergency. ATCs give aircraft specific navigational headings called radar vectors to help them follow the intended flight path.

“IndiGo flight 6E 2142 from Delhi to Srinagar on May 21 navigated a sudden hailstorm and landed safely at Srinagar International Airport. All customers were attended to upon landing and no injuries were reported. The aircraft is currently undergoing necessary inspection and maintenance in Srinagar and will resume operations once all clearances have been secured. We sincerely thank our customers for their cooperation in ensuring the safe completion of this flight. As always, the safety of our customers and crew remains our highest priority,” IndiGo said in a statement on Thursday night.

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