Union minister for civil aviation, Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday chaired a one-on-one meeting with the heads of airline companies to review the security surveillance of flights and to take a note of the safety norms.

This comes after several instances of flights being diverted due to safety reasons or functioning issues in the country, reported ANI.

An Air India Express flight from Calicut to Dubai had to be diverted to Muscat following a burning smell coming from one of the vents in the forward galley of the aircraft on Saturday.

Confirming this, a senior official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said, “Crew carried out a non-normal checklist for smoke fire or fumes and diverted to Muscat and landed safely.”

The official told that the on-ground engineering inspections were carried out as a relevant task of the Fault Isolation Manual. The Engine Ground run was carried out with both the ENGINE and auxiliary power unit (APU) operating, he added.

It may be noted that another Hyderabad-bound IndiGo flight from Sharjah was diverted to Karachi in Pakistan after a technical defect was reported by the pilot.

In a press release, IndiGo said, “IndiGo flight 6E-1406, operating from Sharjah to Hyderabad was diverted to Karachi. The pilot observed a technical defect. Necessary procedures were followed and as a precaution, the aircraft was diverted to Karachi.”

This was the second instance of an Indian airline making a precautionary landing in Karachi within two weeks.

Earlier, the Union minister had chaired a high-level meeting with senior officials of the civil aviation ministry and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) over air safety after three emergency landings in the country within 48 hours.