Air India Express flight hit by bird strike, lands safely in Bengaluru

An Air India Express flight from Visakhapatnam to Bengaluru suffered a bird strike but landed safely at Kempegowda International Airport with all 148 passengers and crew unharmed. The aircraft was moved for inspection after landing as engineers assessed possible damage.

New Delhi: An Air India Express flight from Visakhapatnam to Bengaluru has suffered a bird strike but landed safely at Kempegowda International Airport and all 148 passengers on board were unharmed.

Flight IX2065 completed its journey despite the incident and was moved to a parking stand after landing on Monday.

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Following standard safety procedures, ground engineers and technical teams began inspecting the aircraft to assess any possible damage to its structure or engines.

However, no injuries were reported among passengers or crew.

The incident comes days after an Air India flight from Frankfurt to Delhi made an emergency landing in Jaipur earlier in October after reportedly transmitting Squawk 7500 — the international code used to indicate a hijacking.

The alert was received by Ahmedabad Air Traffic Control (ATC), following which the aircraft landed safely in Jaipur. Further details about the circumstances that triggered the alert were not immediately available.

Apart from that, Indian carriers have suspended flights to several destinations in Saudi Arabia till October 20, citing the evolving security situation in the region.

According to travel advisories, services to key Saudi cities — including Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam — will remain suspended, with some carriers also cancelling flights to Madinah.

“In view of the evolving situation in Saudi Arabia, all Air India flights to and from Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah stand cancelled until October 20,” Air India said, adding that affected passengers are being offered a full refund.

Air India Express also said it has extended suspension of flights to and from Dammam, Jeddah and Riyadh until October 20.

IndiGo on Thursday announced cancellation of flights to and from Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Madinah until October 24. Akasa Air said it has extended suspension of flights to and from Riyadh until October 24 and Jeddah until October 21.

Airlines said passenger and crew safety remained their top priority and they would continue to monitor the situation.