An Air India Express flight from Jeddah to Kozhikode with 160 passengers onboard made an emergency landing at the Cochin International Airport on Thursday due to issues involving its landing gear and tyre failure, an official said.
In an official statement, the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), in a statement, said that it successfully facilitated the safe emergency landing of Air India Express flight IX 398 from Jeddah to Kozhikode. The plane was diverted to Kochi due to a technical issue involving the right main landing gear and tyre failure.
The aircraft landed safely at 09.07 am under full emergency conditions, it said.
A CIAL spokesperson said, “All emergency services were activated in advance, and there were no injuries reported among passengers or crew. Post-landing inspection confirmed that both right-side tyres had burst. Subsequently, the runway was cleared and released for operations, the statement added.
An Air India spokesperson said the damage to the tyre was likely caused by a foreign object on the runway at Jeddah airport.
2nd Incident in a month
This is the second incident of an Air India Express making emergency landing. On Nov 12, an Air India Express plane made emergency landing at Varanasi airport due to a bomb threat. Speaking about it, an airline spokesperson said, “One of our flights to Varanasi received a security threat. In line with protocol, the Government-appointed Bomb Threat Assessment Committee was immediately alerted, and all necessary security procedures promptly initiated.”
“The flight landed safely and all guests have been disembarked. The aircraft will be released for operations once all mandated security checks are completed,” it added.