New Delhi

India's civil aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has started an investigation into an alleged incident of "mid-air near miss" involving two IndiGo flights.

The purported safety-related lapse occurred on January 9 after the two flights took off from Bengaluru airport.

"Post the alleged safety breach, an investigation was launched by the DGCA," said a senior official with the regulator on Wednesday.

The two IndiGo flights were headed for Kolkata and Bhubaneswar, respectively.

According to industry insiders, the two aircraft had allegedly breached separation limits.

Under safety regulations, aircraft in Indian air space must maintain a distance of 5 nautical miles between them.

The two Airbus aircraft had hundreds of passengers on board.