AN-32 tyre burst on runway delays flights

Chandigarh, July 24

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Two civilian flights were delayed by a few minutes after the runway at the Chandigarh Air Force Station, which is also used by the co-located civilian airport, had to be closed after an IAF aircraft suffered a tyre burst on Tuesday.

According to the IAF, emergency procedures were activated after the tyre of an AN-32 on a routine sortie burst after landing due to which the runway had to be shut down for about half an hour. The aircraft had to be towed away. No civilian aircraft was at risk or required to be diverted due to the incident.

A spokesperson for the airport said two flights were affected by the tyre burst. Jet Airways’ Delhi-Chandigarh-Delhi flight (9W-655), whose scheduled arrival was 9.25 am, landed at 9.40 am after a delay of 15 minutes.

At the same time, Air India’s Chandigarh-Pune flight (AI-813) was taxing out, but had to return to the parking bay at 9.15 am. It pushed back for takeoff again at 9.22 am, after a delay of seven minutes, the spokesperson said. — TNS