# When Storm Trapped Three Pakistani Jets Over Punjab, India Opened Its Skies — A Year After Pakistan Turned Away a Stricken IndiGo Flight

> With landing impossible at Lahore during a violent monsoon storm, India granted three Pakistani passenger flights a few minutes of safe passage through its airspace — exactly a year after Pakistan had refused the same help to an IndiGo flight caught in similar conditions.

**Type:** article · **Category:** Pakistan · **Published:** 2026-06-13 · **Source:** TrendKia
**Canonical:** https://trendkia.com/en/pakistan/tuphana-men-phnse-pakistani-vimanon-ke-lie-bharata-ne-khola-apana-asamana-tina-p-582 · **Language:** English
**Tags:** India airspace, Pakistan flight, IndiGo 6E2142, Lahore storm, Amritsar ATC, DGCA report, monsoon storm, aviation emergency

## A Deadly Sky, and India Steps In
During this monsoon season, the skies over Punjab turned lethal within minutes, with fierce winds and relentless lightning lashing the region. Caught in the middle of it were three large passenger jets of Pakistani airlines, each carrying hundreds of travellers — arriving from Dubai, Jeddah and Dammam, all bound for Lahore. But visibility at Lahore had dropped to zero, making any landing impossible.

As the situation grew desperate, India threw open its airspace. The Pakistani aircraft pleading for help were given a few minutes of safe room in Indian skies so that the innocent passengers aboard could be brought out of danger.

## How India Guided Each Aircraft to Safety
Each flight had its own ordeal, and in every case Indian air traffic control placed humanity above politics.

**Lahore-Dubai flight (9P-514):** At around 9:13 PM, this aircraft strayed completely off course near Kasur. Its pilots sought an emergency entry into Indian airspace to save the lives on board, and Amritsar ATC cleared it. The plane flew safely over Indian Punjab for about 20 minutes and returned to Pakistan via Bahawalnagar at 9:33 PM.

**Lahore-Jeddah flight (9P-586):** At 8:52 PM, this jet crossed into Indian territory near Kanganpur. The storm was so terrifying that the pilots' hands were shaking in the cockpit. India provided a safe corridor for 4 minutes, after which the aircraft turned back near Sulemanki.

**Dammam-Lahore flight (PF-743):** At 8:59 PM, this aircraft entered Indian skies near Haveli Lakha and, after remaining under India's shelter for about 6 minutes, returned via Kasur.

Even with zero visibility at Lahore, Indian ATC kept up constant contact with Lahore ATC and helped move these flights out safely. One of them later had to be diverted to Peshawar.

## Exactly a Year Ago — When Pakistan Looked Away
While India opened its skies to save the citizens of a neighbouring nation, the episode revived the memory of the day Pakistan flatly refused to help an Indian flight trapped in precisely the same kind of danger.

An IndiGo flight (6E2142) flying from Delhi to Srinagar had been caught in a dangerous hailstorm and an aerial whirlwind near Pathankot. The hundreds of Indian passengers on board were holding their breath. When the pilot realised that pushing ahead would mean inviting death, he immediately contacted Lahore ATC and asked for permission to use Pakistani airspace for a few minutes to escape the storm.

The investigation report by the DGCA (DGCA) made it clear that the IndiGo pilot repeatedly requested to turn slightly left because of the worsening weather, but the Pakistani officials paid no heed and bluntly refused to give the Indian aircraft any passage.

## Cutting Through the Storm to Save Hundreds
After Pakistan's refusal, the IndiGo pilots were left with no option. With the cyclonic system right upon them, they had no choice but to take the difficult decision of flying the aircraft straight through that ferocious storm.

The moment the plane plunged into the crackling lightning and large hailstones, it began pitching violently in the air. The pounding was so severe that the aircraft's nose section — the 'nose radome' — broke apart mid-air. It was the sheer presence of mind of the pilots that allowed them to slice through the storm by the shortest possible route and land the plane safely at Srinagar, saving every passenger on board.

## Two Nations, Two Very Different Mindsets
The incident has once again laid bare the vast gulf between the thinking of India and Pakistan. For an India that lives by 'Atithi Devo Bhava' and 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam', saving the lives of innocent passengers stranded in the sky stands far above any battle of borders and politics. India could easily have avenged the year-old episode and left the Pakistani jets to their fate — but it chose humanity instead.

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