99 emergency landings in 2 years, nearly 1/3 of these by Air India planes: Govt

There were a total of 99 instances of emergency landings by aircraft in the country in the past two years, the government informed Parliament.

However, the total number of emergency landings fell by 35 per cent in 2017 as compared to the previous year.

There were total 60 cases of emergency landings in 2016 and 39 cases in 2017, according to data shared by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha in the Rajya Sabha.

Of these, Air India accounted for nearly a third of such instances, with 27 emergency landings.

Jet Airways had 14 emergency landings, SpiceJet had 11 such incidents and IndiGo saw 10 cases.

Various international carriers, including Lufthansa, Emirates, Malaysia Airlines, Royal Nepal Airlines, and Sri Lanka Airlines accounted for 12 incidents of emergency landings over the past two years.

As far as the violation of air safety norms was concerned, Air India group registered total 77 cases last year until November, which is a 13 per cent increase over cases of safety breaches in 2016.

Private carriers in the country recorded 199 cases altogether last year until November, registering a 30 per cent decline in violations as compared to 2016 when their violations were at 279.