"Aircraft encountered moderate turbulent conditions": DGCA on Air India flight diversion after Congress' Venugopal allegation

New Delhi [India], August 11 (ANI): The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday released a statement on the diversion of Air India flight AI2455 Thiruvananthapuram - Delhi on August 10, following Congress MP KC Venugopal described it as "frighteningly close to tragedy."
The DGCA said that the diversion was due to bad weather and the crew suspected a weather RADAR malfunction. The flight circled over Chennai to burn extra fuel and it aborted first landing attempt at Chennai as instructed by ATC after a departing Gulf Air flight reported debris on runway. Upon landing, the engineering inspection found no deficiency but as a precautionary measure, the radar transreceiver of the aircraft was replaced, the DGCA said in a statement today.
"On 10.08.2025, Air India A320 aircraft VT-TNL was scheduled to operate flight AI2455 (Thiruvananthapuram - Delhi) with a scheduled time of departure as 19:15 IST. Due to the late arrival of aircraft from Delhi (Weather Diversion+consequential+commercial), the aircraft departed Thiruvananthapuram at 20:04 IST, i.e. with a total delay of 49 minutes," the statement read.
"During the flight, the aircraft encountered moderate turbulent conditions. Crew observed that the weather information depicted on the weather RADAR was not accurate, suspecting weather RADAR malfunction diverted to Chennai," DGCA added further in his statement.
"To avoid an overweight landing and burn extra fuel, the aircraft with the ATC clearance orbited 25NM northeast of Chennai for 43 minutes (from 21:25IST to 22:08IST). After the aircraft was cleared for approach Runway 25 at Chennai, at 2219IST, the aircraft was instructed to carry out a missed approach by ATC as departing Gulf Air flight GFA053 Chennai-Bahrain) reported debris on the left side of the runway," read the lines of the statement.
As a precautionary measure, DGCA said that "Apron control carried out an inspection of the runway, and nothing was observed. The aircraft was given landing clearance and landed safely at 22:39 IST. During the engineering inspection, no deficiency was observed. However, as a precautionary measure, the WX radar transreceiver was replaced with a serviceable one."
Earlier today, Congress MP Venugopal took to X to post , "Air India flight AI 2455 from Trivandrum to Delhi - carrying myself, several MPs, and hundreds of passengers - came frighteningly close to tragedy today. What began as a delayed departure turned into a harrowing journey."
"Shortly after take-off, we were hit by unprecedented turbulence. About an hour later, the Captain announced a flight signal fault and diverted to Chennai. For nearly two hours, we circled the airport awaiting clearance to land, until a heart-stopping moment during our first attempt - another aircraft was reportedly on the same runway. In that split second, the Captain's quick decision to pull up saved every life on board. The flight landed safely on the second attempt. We were saved by skill and luck. Passenger safety cannot depend on luck. I urge @DGCAIndia and @MoCA_GoI to investigate this incident urgently, fix accountability, and ensure such lapses never happen again."
https://x.com/kcvenugopalmp/status/1954611946663383238
Air India in a statement on X addressed to Venugopal said "Dear Mr Venugopal, we would like to clarify that the diversion to Chennai was precautionary due to a suspected technical issue and poor weather conditions. A go-around was instructed by Chennai ATC during the first attempted landing at Chennai airport, not because of the presence of another aircraft on the runway. Our pilots are well-trained to handle such situations, and in this case, they followed standard procedures throughout the flight. We understand that such an experience can be unsettling and regret the inconvenience the diversion may have caused to you. However, safety is always our priority. Thank you for your understanding."

Dear Mr Venugopal, we would like to clarify that the diversion to Chennai was precautionary due to a suspected technical issue and poor weather conditions. A go-around was instructed by Chennai ATC during the first attempted landing at Chennai airport, not because of the presence…

— Air India (@airindia) August 10, 2025

https://x.com/airindia/status/1954629966920081849
Venugopal, however alleged that Air India was "lying" about a potential safety lapse at the Chennai airport runway and also called for a "fair enquiry" by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation into the incident.
"That was a lie, Air India is lying. It was announced by the captain only," Venugopal told ANI. (ANI)