Mumbai airport’s main runway shut after tyre of Etihad aircraft bursts upon landing
The tyre of Etihad’s aircraft burst upon landing at Mumbai Airport, forcing officials to shut the main runway (Etihad aircraft on main runway. Picture Courtesy: Clint Thomas/Twitter)
The main runway of one of the busiest airports in the country, Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, was shut on Monday evening after the tyre of an Etihad Airways aircraft burst upon landing.
According to preliminary information, the incident took place around 7:30 pm when the tyre of Etihad’s A340-642 aircraft burst upon making contact with the airport’s main runway. As of now, it is not clear what caused the tyre to burst.
The flight is believed to have originated from Abu Dhabi, although a final confirmation is awaited.
As of publishing this, no one has been reported injured and all flights to and from Mumbai have been diverted to the secondary runway.
The diversion of flights to the other runway is likely to affect both arrival and departure of scheduled flights. As of 8:15 pm, scheduled flights have already been delayed by 30 minutes. The runway is expected to be functional by 9 pm.
The incident comes barely two days after the Middle Eastern carrier announced that it has posted a net loss of $1.87 billion in the last fiscal.
Further details are awaited.
This is a developing story and will be updated once more information becomes available.
Update (8:40 pm): The aircraft has been towed from the runway and the main runway is now operational.
