Asiad-bound India shooters on flight diverted to Jaipur due to technical issue

New Delhi: Some Asian Games-bound Indian shooters were in an Air India flight from Bhopal to Delhi that was diverted to Jaipur on Sunday morning due to a technical issue.

Seven shooters, four coaches and four support staff members were onboard the flight which took off from Bhopal’s Raja Bhoj airport at 8.36am. They were scheduled to land in Delhi at 9:40am. However, it was diverted to Jaipur due to a technical issue.

“Within 10-15 minutes of the take-off, it was announced that due to a technical issue the flight would be diverted to Jaipur. We landed in Jaipur at around 9:40 am. We were in the flight for almost two hours before we were taken out,” a member of the shooting contingent told HT.

Air India arranged transport for the passengers to travel to Delhi by road, but since the shooters had their weapons with them they requested a separate bus. “We had to carry our weapons and luggage. A bus and a car were provided to us and we started from Jaipur at around 1pm,” the squad member said.

They were dropped off at the Karni Singh Shooting range at around 6:30pm.

An Air India statement said, “Flight AI1886 operating from Bhopal to Delhi on 13 September was diverted to Jaipur due to a technical issue as per laid-down procedures. The aircraft landed safely at Jaipur and is undergoing checks in line with Air India’s safety standards.”

India’s 30-shooter contingent has been training in Bhopal ahead of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games starting on September 19. They have been arriving in Delhi in batches. The shooting contingent will leave for Japan from here on Tuesday.