It later turned out to be a "false alarm" after Air India engineers flown by a special flight to Nawabshah airport in southern Sindh province found nothing wrong with the hydraulic system. The problem was with the emergency indicator lights in the cockpit panel.
All the 122 passengers and six crew members were flown back to Delhi by the special plane this evening after an over 10-hour halt. The affected A-319 aircraft also flew into Delhi shortly thereafter. The original Air India flight AI-940 was supposed to land in Delhi at 0500 hours.
"The aircraft was flying over Pakistani airspace when the pilot saw warning lights on the cockpit panel and sought permission to land at the nearest airport, which was Nawabshah," an AI spokesperson said in Delhi.
A relief A-320 plane, carrying engineers, equipment and food, was rushed from Delhi.
"There was nothing wrong with the hydraulic system of the aircraft and, apparently the cockpit panel emitted false alarm making red lights to blip," Air India officials said, adding "however, even such a technical glitch has to be corrected and that was done."
Indian officials appreciated the cooperation of the Pakistani government in dealing with the situation. MORE
