Mumbai airport runway shut for 30 min after Bangkok aircraft makes emergency landing

Mumbai airport’s main runway had to be closed for 30 minutes after a cargo flight was forced to make an emergency landing on Thursday afternoon.

The aircraft, a Boeing 747 operated by global logistics company UPS, had to make emergency landing because of hydraulic failure. The aircraft was coming to Mumbai from Bangkok and had to land ahead of its scheduled time, after its pilot alerted the Mumbai Air Traffic Control (ATC) about technical problems with the aircraft.

A ‘full emergency’ was declared at the airport and fire tenders, ambulances, and a medical team along with airport officials rushed to the runway, as per standard operating procedure (SOP). There are unconfirmed reports that oil from the aircraft engine spilled on the runway.

“The aircraft landed at Mumbai airport at 12.09pm and remained on the main runway abeam taxiway N8, as one of its tyre had deflated,” a spokesperson for Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Ltd. said.

The main runway was blocked for around 30 minutes, and flight operations restarted only after the stalled aircraft was towed away, and an inspection was done.

Operations could not be shifted to the secondary runway as it is closed for maintenance work.