Air India Express Flight Suffers Bird Strike, Lands Safely in Bengaluru With 148 Passengers

An Air India Express flight from Visakhapatnam to Bengaluru suffered a bird strike but landed safely at Kempegowda International Airport, with all 148 passengers on board escaping unharmed.

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

Following standard safety procedures, ground engineers and technical teams began inspecting the aircraft to assess any potential damage to its structure or engines. No injuries were reported among passengers or crew.

The incident comes amid heightened attention to aviation safety following a separate incident earlier this month involving an Air India flight from Frankfurt to Delhi.

The flight reportedly made an emergency landing in Jaipur after Ahmedabad Air Traffic Control received a Squawk 7500 alert, the international code indicating a hijacking. The aircraft landed safely, although details about the circumstances that triggered the alert were not immediately available.

Meanwhile, Indian airlines have extended the suspension of several flights to Saudi Arabia amid the evolving security situation in the region.

Air India announced that flights to and from Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah would remain cancelled until October 20, offering affected passengers full refunds. Air India Express also extended its suspension of services to and from the three cities until the same date.

IndiGo announced cancellations on routes connecting Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Madinah until October 24. Akasa Air extended the suspension of its Riyadh services until October 24 and Jeddah services until October 21.

The airlines said passenger and crew safety remained their priority and that they would continue monitoring developments before resuming affected operations.