CHENNAI: Two international flights were diverted to Chennai airport one after another in a span of one hour on Monday after developing major technical issues midair, triggering emergency response arrangements at the airport.A Malaysia Airlines flight (MH156) from Kuala Lumpur to Jeddah with 186 passengers on board was the first to divert to Chennai after the pilot reported failure of one of the engines. Chennai airport authorities declared full emergency at 4.07pm to make way for the Airbus 330-200. Emergency response arrangements had been activated at Chennai airport ahead of its arrival.The aircraft landed safely at 4.44pm and moved to the remote bay and the passengers were deboarded. The flight remained grounded till night as the technical team were assessing the engine failure.Meanwhile, an Air India Express flight (Boeing 737) from Trichy to Singapore with 179 passengers on board was diverted to Chennai following a technical issue. After the pilot reported a technical snag to the air traffic controller in Chennai, a local standby was declared at Chennai airport at 5.38pm, with airport operational and emergency agencies placed on alert.The aircraft landed safely at 5.52pm and vacated the runway under its own power. There were no reports of any untoward incident in either diversion. The Air India Express aircraft was also subjected to assessment by the airline’s engineering and technical team.Chennai airport authorities maintained that airport operations remained normal.
