Earlier this month, two IndiGo planes came dangerously close to colliding in mid-air as they took off from Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). The incident occurred on January 7, when IndiGo aircraft 6E 455 to Kolkata and 6E 246 to Bhubaneswar were allowed to depart at the same time.

The KIA has two runways, one north, and one south. The runways are not used for simultaneous departures since flights departing from the same location may collide. In other words, parallel runway operations from the airport are not possible.

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“The north runway was used for departures and the south runway for arrivals on the morning of the event.” Later, the shift in charge decided to close the south runway but neglected to notify the air traffic controller at the south tower,” a senior Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) official said.

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As a result, the two flights were granted clearance to take off from the converging runways at the same time. As a result, the aircrafts traveling in the same direction were about to collide with one other. When a radar controller noticed this, he intervened promptly to inform the aircraft.

The incident raises severe concerns about the deficiencies in air traffic management that led to the incident, as well as the failure of both the Airports Authority of India and the airline to notify the DGCA. “The information was not shared by any of the entities concerned.” “We noticed this through our surveillance,” the DGCA insider explained.

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The DGCA is examining the event and has stated that those involved would face the harshest punishment. IndiGo has refused to comment on the issue.