A Delhi-to-Srinagar IndiGo flight faced a scary situation on Wednesday evening when it was hit by severe turbulence and a hailstorm during the journey. Despite the tough weather, the flight managed to land safely in Srinagar.
The nose of the aircraft was damaged due to the hailstorm. However, all 227 passengers and the flight crew are safe. The flight, numbered 6E 2142, landed at 6:30 pm according to flight tracking website Flightradar24, although the airport later mentioned the landing happened at 8:30 pm.
Srinagar Airport Director Javed Anjum confirmed the incident and said the pilot had declared an emergency during the flight due to the storm. “The flight landed safely. Everyone on board is safe,” said the airport spokesperson.
Among the passengers were four Members of Parliament from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) – Derek O’Brien, Sagarika Ghose, Mamata Bala Thakur, and Nadimul Haque. They were traveling to Jammu and Kashmir to meet people affected by cross-border violence.
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
IndiGo released a statement saying that the crew followed all safety procedures during the hailstorm, and the airport staff ensured that passengers were looked after upon arrival. The airline also mentioned that the aircraft will undergo inspection and repairs before being used again.
However, the return flight from Srinagar to Delhi (flight 6E 2268), which was scheduled for 7:05 pm, had not yet taken off as of 9:24 pm.
Delhi experienced a strong storm on Wednesday, with winds reaching up to 79 km/h. A red alert was issued in the city, and at least one person died. Several electric poles were also knocked down.
TMC MP Sagarika Ghose described the experience as terrifying. “We thought we were going to die. People were screaming and praying. The plane was shaking badly. But the pilot did an amazing job by flying under the storm and landing us safely,” she said. “When we landed, we saw that the nose of the aircraft was badly damaged. It was very scary because if the cockpit had been hit, the pilot might not have been able to fly.”
The TMC team is being led by West Bengal minister Manas Ranjan Bhunia during their visit to the region.
