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Flights resume operations at Kathmandu airport after Malindo flight runway excursion
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Officers tow away ill-fated Malindo Air aircraft from the grassland to the parking area at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Friday.
(The Kathmandu Post/ANN/File)
T
he Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), that had halted international flights after a Kuala Lumpur-bound Malindo Air flight suffered a runway excursion on Thursday night after an aborted takeoff, has resumed its operations from 11:35 am on Friday.
TIA general manager Raj Kumar Chettri informed that the aircraft was towed away from the grassland to the runway and now is in the parking area.
General Manager Chhetri further informed that the airport runway did not suffer any damages during the incident and all international flights have resumed.
The Malindo Air flight’s runway excursion had forced TIA to halt all international flights.
The Boeing 737-900, registration 9M-LNJ, was cleared for takeoff from runway 20 with 139 people, comprising of 132 passengers and 7 crew members, on board the aircraft.
"The flight captain aborted takeoff at the final moment after he saw an error at the monitor inside the cockpit," said Chettri, quoting the captain.
The aircraft apparantly couldn't stop because of the take-off speed and load at the final moment and overran 50m south (Koteshwor side) from the runway threshold and rested in a grassland at around 22:08 pm (local time), Chettri said. The runway was closed following the incident. However, the aircraft has not suffered any damage but the front tyre has been stuck in the mud.
The domestic flights have not been affected.
The cause for emergency has not been ascertained.
In March 2015, a Turkish Airlines aircraft also suffered a runway excursion during landing at TIA that had closed the country's sole international airport for four days creating chaos among travellers.
