Full emergency declared for Vistara's Delhi-Bhubaneshwar flight after hydraulic failure

A full emergency was declared on Monday for Vistara's Delhi-Bhubaneshwar flight after hydraulic failure.

According to sources, the flight returned to Delhi after take off due to hydraulic failure. There were 140 passengers on board, as per sources.

"On 9.01.2023 Vistara A320 aircraft VT-TNV while operating UK-781(Delhi-Bhubaneshwar)was involved in air turn back due as green hydraulic system low ECAM came on," said DGCA sources. The flight landed safely at 2019 hours after the full emergency was declared at 1953 hours. 

In November, the ​Tata group on Tuesday announced the merger of Vistara with Air India under a deal wherein Singapore Airlines will also acquire a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India, marking a major consolidation in India's fast-growing aviation space.

The deal, which will make Air India the country's largest international carrier and second-largest domestic carrier, is expected to be completed by March 2024, subject to regulatory approvals.

Currently, Tata group owns a 51 per cent stake in Vistara and the rest is with Singapore Airlines (SIA).

Singapore Airlines (SIA) said it would be investing Rs 2,058.5 crore in Air India as part of the merger transaction. This would give SIA a 25.1 per cent stake in an enlarged Air India group with a significant presence in all key market segments, it added.

Vistara and Air India are the country's second and third largest domestic carriers, respectively. Together, their market share stood at 18.3 per cent in October.

Tata group has not provided any details about the merged entity such as those pertaining to branding, uniforms and frequent flyer programmes, although it seems likely that Vistara as a brand name might not exist in the long run.