A flight operated by Air India Express from Hyderabad to Phuket encountered a technical issue after landing at Phuket International Airport on Wednesday, forcing airport authorities to temporarily suspend flight operations. The aircraft, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, reportedly suffered a malfunction in its nose wheel after touchdown, leaving the aircraft stranded on the runway for some time.
Airport officials halted all take-offs and landings immediately after the incident as a precautionary measure to ensure safety and allow technical teams to assess the situation. The closure was necessary because the aircraft remained on the runway following the malfunction, preventing other flights from operating normally.
In an official statement, Air India Express confirmed that the flight operating on March 11 experienced a technical issue related to the aircraft’s nose wheel after arriving at Phuket. The airline clarified that the nose wheel forms an essential part of an aircraft’s landing gear system, helping pilots steer and manoeuvre the aircraft safely while taxiing on the ground.
The airline emphasised that the crew followed all established safety procedures after detecting the issue. According to the statement, passengers were safely deplaned once the aircraft came to a halt. The exact number of passengers onboard the flight was not immediately disclosed by the airline.
Flight-tracking data from Flightradar24 showed that Flight IX 938 departed from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad at 6:42 a.m., slightly behind its scheduled departure time of 6:20 a.m. The aircraft landed at Phuket at around 11:40 a.m. local time before the technical issue was reported.
Airport authorities in Phuket began efforts to clear the runway and restore normal flight operations as quickly as possible. Technical teams and airport staff worked together to move the aircraft and conduct safety inspections to ensure that the runway could be reopened without risk to other flights.
Despite the disruption, airline officials stressed that safety remained the highest priority and that the situation was handled in accordance with established aviation protocols.
Meanwhile, Air India and its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express announced that they will together operate 58 scheduled and non-scheduled flights to and from West Asia on Wednesday. The announcement comes at a time when airlines across the region are carefully managing operations due to heightened geopolitical tensions involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, which have resulted in airspace restrictions in parts of the region.
According to the airline, regular services to key destinations will continue. Air India is scheduled to operate eight flights to and from Jeddah, while Air India Express will run 14 scheduled flights connecting various Indian cities with Muscat.
The schedule includes round-trip flights from Delhi and Mumbai to Jeddah operated by Air India, as well as additional round-trip services from Hyderabad and Kozhikode to Jeddah operated by Air India Express.
Aviation experts note that while technical issues such as landing gear malfunctions are uncommon, strict aviation safety protocols ensure that incidents are managed without compromising passenger safety. Airport officials in Phuket are expected to complete the runway clearance and resume normal flight operations once all necessary checks are finished.
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