History of the Flight
On 15 January 2022, Air Arabia flight ABY531, an Airbus 320-214 aircraft registered as A6-ANS, was conducting a scheduled transit passenger flight from Tribhuvan International Airport (VNKT), Kathmandu, Nepal, to Sharjah International Airport (OMSJ), Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, on Air Traffic Services (ATS) route MERUN-RK-LUBNA-G214-SK-G214-BIVIN. SpiceJet flight SEJ711, a Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft registered as VT-MXK, was operating a scheduled transit passenger flight from Dubai International Airport (OMDB), Dubai, UAE, to Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport (VAID), Indore, India, on route ASVIB-G665-PG-G214-MOLTA-G214-LA-A456-AAR. Both aircraft were in contact with Area Control Centre (ACC) Karachi (West) and under positive radar coverage.
ABY531 was cleared from LUBNA direct to position IDEBA maintaining flight level (FL) 320. SEJ711 was cleared from position ASVIB to IDEBA maintaining FL350. While approaching IDEBA, ABY531 requested climb to FL340, which was approved by air traffic control (ATC).
When ABY531 was overhead IDEBA passing FL335 for FL340, it reported a Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System – Resolution Advisory (TCAS – RA) and stopped its climb at FL335. At that time, the reciprocal traffic, SEJ711, was 5 nautical miles (NM) away at FL350. After obtaining confirmation from SEJ711, the pilot of SEJ711 reported only a TCAS – Traffic Advisory (TA) due to the high rate of climb (ROC) of the reciprocal traffic. ABY531 later resumed its climb to FL340.
Upon query by the Team Leader of ACC Karachi, ABY531 admitted that it was maintaining a high ROC due to moderate to severe turbulence. At the time of the RA, vertical separation of 1,500 ft existed between the two aircraft, and standard separation was not infringed. Both aircraft continued to their destinations without further incident.
Injuries and Damage
No injuries were reported to any person on board either aircraft. No damage was reported to any of the aircraft.
Aircraft Information
ABY531 was an Airbus 320-214, manufacturer serial number 5772, year of manufacture 2013, operated by Air Arabia. SEJ711 was a Boeing 737-8 MAX, manufacturer serial number 60224, year of manufacture 2019, operated by SpiceJet.
Meteorological Information
According to the forecasted significant weather charts reported by the Pakistan Meteorological Department, a strong jet stream was present centered at FL370, which may have caused turbulence or wind shear along the route Rahim Yar Khan – Sukkur.