Thiruvananthapuram : A Dammam-bound Air India Express flight from Calicut was diverted to Thiruvananthapuram after its tail brushed the ground during take off on Friday. A full emergency was declared at the Thiruvananthapuram airport and the flight landed safely, officials said.
According to officials, Air India Express flight IX 385 on Kozhikode-Dammam route diverted to Thiruvananthapuram due to suspected tail strike while taking off from Kozhikode airport. "There were 168 passengers on board, and the aircraft made normal safe landing at Thiruvananthapuram at 12.15PM and passengers deplaned," the airline said in a statement.
"We are making arrangements to send the passengers to Dammam by an alternate flight which is scheduled to take off from Thiruvananthapuram at 3.30 PM today," the statement said adding that the airline staff are attending to all the requirements of the passengers at Thiruvananthapuram.
Earlier on February 4, a Calicut-bound Air India Express flight from Abu Dhabi landed back at Abu Dhabi airport after flames were detected in one of the engines soon after take-off. Similarly, on January 23, an Air Indi z Express flight from Trivandrum to Muscat landed back 45 minutes after taking off due to a technical glitch. According to officials, the flight management system (FMS) developed a technical glitch.
In December 2022, a snake was found on a Dubai-bound Air India Express flight. Air India Express Boeing B-737 flight from Calicut to Dubai took off as scheduled and after landing at Dubai airport, the staff reported a snake on board the aircraft.