Air India plane from Kerala lands on under construction runway in Maldives, wheels deflated

As per initial reports more than a hundred passengers on board the plane are safe but two of its tyres were deflated.

(Image representational/ Courtesy: PTI)

Trivandrum: An Air India flight from Trivandrum to Male on Friday landed on a runway under construction at Male Velana International Airport, Maldives. As per initial reports more than a hundred passengers on board the plane are safe but two of its tyres were deflated.

#UPDATE: Air India 320-NEO aircraft VT EXL has landed on wrong runway (under construction runway) at Male, Maldives. All 136 passengers plus crew on board are safe. 2 main wheel deflated. The aircraft has been towed to parking bay.

— ANI (@ANI) September 7, 2018

The incident happened at 3.37 pm on flight number AI263. The aircraft has been towed to parking bay. A senior Air India official said the aircraft "VT EXL landed on an under-construction runway at Male". An Air India spokesperson confirmed that the aircraft landed on a wrong runway at the airport but did not provide specific details. Last month, the pilots of the Jet Airways mistook a taxiway for a runway, leading to the skidding of the aircraft onto an unpaved area at Riyadh airport following an aborted take-off on August 3.