Qatar Airways plane goes slightly off runway on landing at Kochi airport

Kochi, July 13: A Doha-Kochi Qatar Airways plane with 306 passengers on board went slightly off the runway after it landed at the airport in Kochi due to a sudden downpour and strong crosswinds.

A spokesman of the Cochin International Airport said there were no casualties and no flights were diverted. He said the weather condition was favourable when the aircraft approached the runway.

But a sudden downpour and strong crosswinds caused it to touch down a few metres off the pre-designated central line at 2.19 am, he said in an official release.

The pilot corrected it, brought the plane back to normal course and then to the parking bay, the release said. Twelve runway lights were damaged in the incident, it said, adding that the debris was immediately removed and the runway was made operational at 3.38 am.

The 'Fly Dubai' flight bound for Dubai and an Emirates flight bound for Kochi were delayed for a few minutes, the release said. An investigation is being carried out by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), it said.

Following the incident, the return flight to Doha was cancelled and the passengers were accommodated on other later flights, the release said.

PTI

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