The GoAir plane made a go-around just before landing at Delhi airport (File)
While returning from Srinagar, the aircraft carrying Rahul Gandhi and other senior opposition leaders had to make a go-around manoeuvre while landing in Delhi on Saturday, officials said.
A delegation of opposition leaders had gone to Srinagar on Saturday to see the ground situation in the region. However, they were not allowed to step out of Srinagar airport and were sent back an hour after landing in the city.
When the GoAir flight G8-149 was ready to land at New Delhi airport, the pilot opted for a go-around.
The announcement made some of the passengers anxious. Over 100 of them were on board including Congress's Rahul Gandhi and Ghulam Nabi Azad, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Manoj Jha and Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury.
A few minutes later, the pilot informed the passengers that "due to non-availability of runway" the flight had to go around and that they were going to land soon. "All operations are normal, deep inconvenience regretted to the GoAir passengers," the pilot said.
A GoAir spokesperson said the go-around manoeuvre was made. "Due to a bird hit suspected on one aircraft, Delhi Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) had asked the GoAir pilot to go around," the spokesperson said.