LUCKNOW: An Air India Express Boeing 737 Max 8 made a precautionary landing at Lucknow airport on Thursday morning after a smoke alert in its aft cargo compartment triggered concern among the crew. The airline later arranged another aircraft to fly the 155 passengers to Delhi.The aircraft involved, bearing registration number VT-BXJ, was delivered to Air India Express in Dec 2023. According to officials, its cabin sensors detected smoke in the cargo bay while it was operating flight IX 1253 from Varanasi to Delhi.The pilots then requested a precautionary landing at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport.The aircraft landed safely at 8.52am. The airport emergency response team conducted a visual inspection after landing, but no smoke was observed. The aircraft was parked at the airport bay and passengers began deplaning at 9.02am.At around 1.30pm, Air India Express arranged another aircraft to take the passengers to Delhi. The replacement aircraft later departed with all the passengers on board.Air India Express in a statement said, “A Varanasi-Delhi flight was diverted to Lucknow as a precaution after a technical issue. The aircraft landed safely, passengers were served refreshments and an alternative aircraft was being arranged.”The Boeing 737 Max 8 remained parked at Lucknow airport till evening. According to an airline source, the aircraft was fit to fly but was awaiting an airworthiness certificate from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.The source said the aircraft was scheduled for return journey from Delhi to Varanasi at 5.45pm on Thursday. It was then scheduled to operate flights on several sectors, including international routes, till Sept 5.The flight movement schedule showed that the aircraft was to operate the Delhi-Varanasi sector before continuing to Sharjah from Varanasi. It was also scheduled to operate flights between Varanasi and Bangkok, besides other sectors.
