'False high temperature warning' forces PIA Hajj flight to make emergency landing in Riyadh

After a "false" high temperature warning in the cargo cabin, a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Hajj flight, PK 839, originally destined to reach Jeddah, made an emergency landing at the Riyadh airport late Friday night.

A PIA spokesperson told Geo News that the pilot of the Boeing 777 aircraft received a high temperature warning in the cargo cabin during the flight after which he landed the flight in the Saudi capital.

However, after testing the aircraft, it was found out that the warning was false and the flight departed to its ultimate destination in Jeddah after a quick inspection, on Saturday.

The Hajj flight took off at 10pm yesterday from the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi for Jeddah. But it was diverted to Riyadh for an emergency landing.

A passenger told Geo News that an explosion was heard during the flight. As soon as the unexpected sound was reported, the plane was diverted to and landed in Riyadh.

Following the emergency landing, passengers were offloaded from the Boeing 777 plane and shifted to the lounge at the Riyadh airport.

Several air incidents have recently made headlines around the world with passengers worried for their safety.

Just a week ago, one passenger died of a suspected heart attack and 30 were injured after a Singapore Airlines flight hit severe turbulence on May 21, flinging passengers and crew around the cabin and forcing the plane to land in Bangkok.

Similarly, 12 people travelling on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Ireland were injured during a bout of turbulence, Dublin Airport said on May 26, adding that the plane landed safely and as scheduled.

Flight QR017, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, landed shortly before 1pm Dublin time, the airport said.

Following these back to back incidents, including the ill-fated helicopter crash of the deceased Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, researchers have said that the issue of flight turbulence has increased due to the impact of climate change.

A BBC report stated that scientists at the United Kingdom's Reading University studied clear-air turbulence — a phenomenon difficult for pilots to avoid.

"Following a decade of research showing that climate change will increase clear-air turbulence in the future, we now have evidence suggesting that the increase has already begun," said Professor Paul Williams, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Reading who co-authored the study, BBC reported.