An emergency was declared at Kerala's Kochi airport on Friday after hydraulic failure was reported on an inbound Air Arabia flight from Sharjah that was carrying 222 passengers and seven crew members, PTI reported. However, the aircraft managed to land safely, said Cochin International Airport (CIAL).
CIAL, in a communication sent to the media, said Air Arabia G9- 426 that was supposed to land at 7.13 pm reported a hydraulic failure following which a full emergency was declared at the airport.
"A Kochi-bound Air Arabia flight (G9- 426) departed from Sharjah in UAE and had a hydraulic failure while landing at Kochi airport, today evening. The aircraft landed safely. All 222 passengers and 7 crew members on board are safe," CIAL said in a statement. "The aircraft landed safely at runway 09 at 19:29 hours," CIAL said, adding that only towing was required.
The full emergency was withdrawn at 8:22 pm after the endurance period of one hour and 50 minutes and operations have resumed at Cochin airport.
Recently, the Kochi international airport came under praise from Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia for providing refuelling facility to around 120 aircraft operating from crisis-hit Sri Lanka.
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"Kudos Trivandrum and Kochi airports for demonstrating the Indian spirit of vasudhaiva kutumbakam. The airports have gone beyond their call of duty by allowing technical landing to 120+ aircraft bound for Sri Lanka. The gesture will go a long way in furthering ties with our neighbour," Scindia tweeted.