New Delhi: A VIP Embraer aircraft carrying external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to Mauritius, on her way to South Africa, had gone incommunicado for 14 minutes, triggering a scare after the Air Traffic Control of the island nation pressed the panic button, an official statement said on Sunday.
The flight had left for Mauritius from Thiruvananthapuram at 2.08 pm. The Male ATC had established contact with the flight at 4.44 pm IST after it entered the airspace of the Maldives from the Indian airspace.
The IFC 31 could not contact the Mauritius ATC after entering the Mauritian airspace, causing panic. However, there was a sigh of relief when the aircraft came in contact with the ATC there at 4.58 pm, the AAI said.
Since the Embraer-135 aircraft, carrying the minister, does not have a long range, it had stopovers at Thiruvananthapuram and Mauritius for refuelling.
Government sources said the crew of the flight followed the laid down procedure to deal with the situation. Swaraj on Sunday arrived in South Africa on a five-day visit.
