An aircraft operated by Air India Express encountered a technical issue after landing at Phuket International Airport on Wednesday. The incident briefly disrupted flight operations at the airport.
The airline said its Hyderabad–Phuket flight experienced a problem with the aircraft’s nose wheel after arriving in Thailand.
Flight IX 938 had departed from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad and headed to Phuket.
In a statement, the airline confirmed that the aircraft faced a nose-wheel issue upon landing at Phuket Airport on March 11.
“We confirm that our Hyderabad-Phuket flight on 11 March experienced an issue with the nose wheel at Phuket Airport,” the airline stated.
The nose wheel is an important component of an aircraft’s landing gear system and helps the plane steer and move while on the ground.
“The crew followed all standard protocols, and guests were deplaned. We thank our guests, the Phuket airport authorities, and all stakeholders for their cooperation,” an Air India Express spokesperson said.
According to the flight-tracking website Flightradar24, the flight departed from Hyderabad at 6:42 AM. Its scheduled departure time was 6:20 AM. The aircraft landed safely at Phuket International Airport at 11:40 AM local time.
Reports said authorities temporarily suspended flight operations at the airport after the incident. The aircraft remained stuck on the runway. Officials halted other flights as a precaution until they addressed the situation.
The airline said the crew followed all safety procedures and safely deplaned all passengers after the aircraft came to a halt.
The number of passengers on board the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft remains unknown.
In a separate incident in December last year, the airline said an Air India Express flight between Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam was cancelled. The pilot had detected a technical issue before departure.
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