A mid-air technical problem forced an Air Calin Airbus A330 to make an emergency landing at Kolkata airport on Sunday afternoon. The aircraft, operated by the international arm of New Caledonia’s government-owned airline, developed an engine-related mechanical issue while flying over Kolkata’s airspace.
The aircraft was carrying 268 passengers and 12 crew members, making a total of 280 people on board. All passengers and crew members were reported to be safe after the aircraft landed at Kolkata airport.
However, another complication emerged after the emergency landing. All the passengers were foreign nationals and none of them had valid Indian visas. As a result, special temporary immigration permits had to be arranged before they could leave the airport premises.
New Caledonia is a group of islands located in the Pacific Ocean, east of Australia. The territory has a long-standing political and colonial association with France. Its government-owned airline is Air Caledonie, while its international operations are conducted under the name Air Calin.
According to aviation sources, the emergency arrival of an Air Calin aircraft in Kolkata was an unusual event. Some aviation experts familiar with the history of Kolkata airport said they could not recall regular or scheduled Air Calin operations at the airport.
The aircraft involved was Air Calin flight SB-501. It reportedly departed from Paris at around 9:30 pm local time on September 12. Its final destination was Noumea, the capital of New Caledonia. The flight was scheduled to make a refuelling stop in Bangkok during the long journey.
However, while flying through Kolkata airspace, the aircraft developed a mechanical problem involving its engine. The pilot immediately contacted Kolkata Air Traffic Control (ATC) and informed officials about the situation. An emergency landing at Kolkata airport was then requested.
Airport authorities quickly began preparations to handle the emergency situation. Before landing, the aircraft was seen circling over Kolkata for some time.
As part of the emergency landing procedure, the aircraft needed to reduce its weight. The plane therefore released a certain amount of fuel while still in the air. Once the situation was considered suitable for landing, the Airbus A330 safely touched down at Kolkata airport on Sunday afternoon.
Following the landing, the aircraft was moved to Bay 115.
The emergency, however, did not end immediately after the aircraft reached the ground. The passengers had to remain inside the plane for some time because Kolkata airport did not have the airline’s own engineering team available to carry out major repairs on an Airbus A330 of this type.
Engineers experienced in handling Airbus aircraft from another airline were reportedly called in to inspect the plane. They examined the aircraft and carried out preliminary checks, but the mechanical problem could not be fully repaired at that stage.
As a result, the passengers and crew had to wait inside the aircraft for several hours.
Finally, at around 4 pm on Sunday, the passengers and crew members were allowed to disembark. But by then, immigration-related complications had emerged.
Since all 268 passengers were foreign nationals and none had an Indian visa, they could not simply leave the airport through the normal immigration process. Considering the exceptional circumstances, arrangements were made for temporary immigration permits.
The airport and immigration authorities began the necessary formalities. According to sources, the process of issuing temporary permits continued until around 4 am on Monday.
After the formalities were completed, arrangements were made to accommodate the passengers and crew at a five-star hotel in Kolkata.
Meanwhile, uncertainty remains over when the passengers will be able to resume their journey. The aircraft’s mechanical problem has not yet been completely resolved, and the airline is expected to send its own engineering specialists to Kolkata.
The situation is complicated by the fact that there is no direct air service between Noumea and Kolkata. Therefore, Air Calin’s engineers may have to travel to Kolkata through Bangkok or Singapore.
The engineers will inspect the aircraft once they arrive and determine whether the Airbus A330 can be repaired in Kolkata. Only after their assessment will the airline be able to decide the next course of action.
If repairing the aircraft takes considerable time, Air Calin may also consider sending an empty aircraft to Kolkata to transport the stranded passengers back to New Caledonia.
However, the exact arrangement and timing will depend on the extent of the technical problem and the airline’s subsequent decision.
For now, the 268 passengers and 12 crew members are staying at a hotel in Kolkata. In total, 280 people have been left stranded midway through their journey because of the unexpected technical problem.
For many of the passengers, Kolkata may have been an entirely unplanned stop. Instead of reaching their intended destination according to schedule, they have now found themselves temporarily staying in the city while the airline works to resolve the situation.
An engine-related problem in mid-air is a serious situation in commercial aviation. In this case, the pilot’s prompt communication with Kolkata ATC, the emergency landing procedure and the decision to reduce the aircraft’s weight before landing helped ensure that the Airbus A330 could land safely.
The immediate priority is now to repair the aircraft and determine how soon the stranded passengers can continue their journey.
The arrival of Air Calin’s engineering team in Kolkata, the time required to resolve the aircraft’s technical problem and the arrangements for taking the passengers to their final destination will determine what happens next.
For the time being, the 280 passengers and crew members remain in Kolkata, waiting for their unexpected journey interruption to come to an end.
