The chilling cry of “Mayday, Mayday” pierced the airwaves on June 19, 2025, as IndiGo Flight 6E-6764 from Guwahati to Chennai faced a heart-stopping fuel emergency, forcing a dramatic diversion to Bengaluru. The Airbus A321, carrying 168 passengers, issued the distress call—a rare and grave signal of imminent danger—35 miles from Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). The captain’s urgent plea underscored a life-or-death struggle to land safely after a failed landing attempt in Chennai drained critical fuel reserves. Coming just days after the catastrophic Air India crash in Ahmedabad, this Mayday call has sent shockwaves through India’s aviation sector, exposing cracks in safety protocols and leaving passengers haunted by their brush with disaster.
The flight took off from Guwahati at 4:40 PM, destined for Chennai’s 7:45 PM landing. As the p
lane descended into Chennai, congestion at the airport—disputed by Chennai’s Air Traffic Control (ATC)—blocked the landing. The pilot executed a “balked landing,” touching the runway briefly before aborting and soaring back into the sky in a jarring “go-around.” “It felt like a rollercoaster,” a passenger told the Times of India, recalling the sudden climb that left many clutching their armrests in fear. Circling above Chennai to await clearance, the aircraft burned through its fuel, dipping below the mandatory reserves needed for such contingencies.
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With Chennai’s runway still inaccessible, the captain faced a dire choice: divert to Bengaluru, 280 miles away, with fuel dangerously low. At 35 miles out, the situation turned critical, prompting the Mayday call that alerted Bengaluru’s ATC to the emergency. “Mayday is not used lightly,” an ATC source told DNA India. “It means the plane was at risk of not making it.” The call mobilized ground teams, with fire trucks and ambulances lining KIA’s runway as the aircraft landed safely at 8:15 PM, its fuel gauges teetering on empty. “We didn’t know how close we were,” a passenger confessed to Moneycontrol, describing the eerie silence aboard as the plane descended.
IndiGo’s response has drawn fire for downplaying the Mayday call’s gravity. The airline attributed the diversion to “traffic congestion” in Chennai, insisting it was a “low-fuel situation,” not an emergency. “That’s nonsense,” a Chennai ATC insider told Hindustan Times. “A Mayday call means they were in real trouble.” The airline confirmed the pilots were de-rostered and the aircraft refueled in Bengaluru, where a new crew took over due to Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL). The flight reached Chennai at 11:25 PM, nearly four hours late, with passengers rattled but unharmed.
The Mayday call’s implications are seismic. Issued just 10 days after Air India Flight AI-171’s Mayday preceded its fatal crash in Ahmedabad, killing over 270, this incident has amplified public dread. On X, users like @IndiaSafetyFirst hailed the pilot’s composure but slammed IndiGo’s fuel planning: “A Mayday call for low fuel? Unacceptable.” Others, like @AviatorVoice, demanded transparency: “Why hide the truth? Passengers deserve to know.” The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is probing the incident, zeroing in on why the aircraft lacked sufficient diversion fuel and whether Chennai’s ATC mismanaged traffic. “A Mayday call signals a systemic failure,” an aviation expert told Reuters, pointing to India’s overburdened airports and airlines’ tight schedules.
Passengers’ accounts paint a vivid picture of terror. “The crew stayed calm, but we felt the tension,” one told The New Indian Express. The “unstabilized approach” during the Chennai landing attempt—possibly due to speed or alignment issues—forced the go-around, burning fuel the plane couldn’t spare. Experts warn that Chennai’s chronic congestion, handling over 400 daily flights, risks more such scares unless infrastructure improves. The next day, another IndiGo flight from Chennai to Madurai returned mid-air due to a technical glitch, further eroding public trust.
The Mayday call on Flight 6E-6764 was a wake-up call for India’s aviation industry. The pilot’s skill averted tragedy, but the incident lays bare the fragility of current safety margins. As the DGCA digs deeper, questions loom: Was it human error, systemic strain, or corporate corner-cutting? For the 168 souls aboard, the Mayday call was a harrowing reminder that every flight is a gamble with razor-thin odds. India’s skies demand answers—and action—before the next distress call becomes the last.
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