New Delhi: Air Asia Lucknow-Kolkata flight on Sunday made an emergency landing at Lucknow airport after a bird hit, news agency ANI reported. An Airbus aircraft of Air Aisa with around 170 passengers was deployed for the Kolkata operation, all of whom are safe, the airline informed.
"Flight i5-319, scheduled to operate from Lucknow to Kolkata, encountered a bird strike during the take-off roll. As a result, the aircraft returned to bay and was grounded for detailed inspection," an AIX Connect spokesperson said, as per ANI.
"Air Asia flight return back to the Lucknow airport after aircraft suffered bird hit, aircraft was landed safely and all passengers are also safe," an airport official told ANI.
An Air Asia statement informed that the flight i5-319, scheduled to operate from Lucknow to Kolkata, encountered a bird strike during the take-off roll. "As a result, the aircraft returned to bay and was grounded for detailed inspection. Impacted guests were attended to and we are making all efforts to mitigate the impact on the integrity of other scheduled operations," it stated, as per ANI.
"We apologise for the inconvenience caused due to circumstances beyond our control," it added.
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Earlier this month, the Air Arabia flight bound for Sharjah was cancelled after it was hit by two birds at the Coimbatore airport.
The incident happened around 7 am on January 2 when two birds hit the Sharjah-bound flight when it was moving on the runway at the Coimbatore airport for take-off.
The pilot was able to notice this bird hit and the aircraft was stopped and the flight was cancelled subsequently. Airport Director Senthil Valavan told ANI that many passengers got their tickets cancelled and a few of them were accommodated in a hotel.
Meanwhile, more details about the fresh bird-hit incident are awaited.