Air India flight makes emergency landing in Kolkata due to suspected fuel leak

An Air India flight from Hong Kong to Delhi, carrying 231 passengers and 11 crew members, made an emergency landing at Kolkata airport on Monday after the pilot suspected a fuel leakage in one of the engines. The Boeing B787-8 Dreamliner, just over nine years old, has since been grounded for further inspection.

At 10:18 AM, the pilot, Simran Preet Singh Gujral, issued a ‘Pan-Pan’ emergency signal, which signifies an urgent but non-life-threatening situation. This signal is less critical than a ‘Mayday’ call, which indicates imminent danger to life or the aircraft. The Air India flight AI 315 was approximately 30 minutes away from Kolkata and had only enough fuel to last 1 hour and 45 minutes when the captain detected the potential fuel leak in the right engine.

The airport's Air Traffic Control (ATC) quickly declared a full emergency and cleared the aircraft for priority landing. The flight safely landed at 11:15 AM, and all passengers were deboarded while engineers examined the engine.

Air India arranged an alternative aircraft to transport the passengers to their final destination in Delhi, ensuring minimal disruption to their journey. Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the suspected fuel leak.