Summary
- Air India Express flight IX-411 was forced to divert back to Cochin International Airport because passengers reported a powerful burning smell contained in the cabin.
- The aircraft in query was quickly back in motion the next morning, operating a flight to Muscat International Airport.
- This incident just isn’t unusual, as other airlines have also experienced similar occurrences on account of the transport of fresh produce within the cargo hold.
Air India Express, flight IX-411, on the night of Wednesday, August 2nd, sure for Sharjah International Airport (SHJ), was forced to divert back to Cochin International Airport (COK) shortly after taking off. This was primarily on account of passengers complaining of a heavy burning and pungent smell detected throughout the aircraft cabin.
The flight
Flight IX-411 is a scheduled operation by Air India Express, serving the COK-SHJ route, using the Boeing 737 aircraft type. It has a scheduled departure time of twenty-two:15 from COK, and after an estimated flight time of 4 hours and 10 minutes, it has an arrival time of 00:55 in SHJ.
Data from FlightRadar24.com shows that on the day, a Boeing 737-800 (VT-AXQ) was scheduled to operate the flight. While the aircraft departed 21 minutes later than scheduled, around quarter-hour after departure, the aircraft might be seen turning around and heading back towards COK. The aircraft landed about half-hour after its departure.
Photo: Wirestock Creators | Shutterstock
Moreover, it was reported that the airline carries large quantities of vegetables, fruits, and flowers in its cargo hold on flights to the Middle Eastern region because it is a source of income for the carrier.
While this incident affected the 175 passengers who were onboard flight IX-411, the airline operated a special flight to accommodate the passengers on one other flight which departed from COK at 05:45 and landed in SHJ at 07:44 after a flight time of three hours and half-hour.
Similar incidents
While it is unusual, there have been similar incidents reported previously of aircraft having to divert on account of a powerful smell within the cabin attributable to the transport of fresh produce within the aircraft cargo hold.
Most recently, earlier this yr, an Airbus A330-200 aircraft operated by Turkish Airlines, en path to Barcelona from Istanbul, needed to divert back to the purpose of origin on account of an alarm being triggered within the cargo hold of the aircraft.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Easy Flying
Upon inspecting the aircraft after landing, it was found that the strong smell of the Durian fruits being transported within the cargo hold of the aircraft was pungent and powerful enough to trigger the sensors within the cargo holds, designed to detect the presence of dangerous gases. In that instance as well, one other aircraft was deployed to move the passengers to their destination.