Air India Express Jeddah–Kozhikode flight diverts to Kochi, Lands under emergency due to tyre damage

Air India Express flight IX 398, flying from Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) to Kozhikode (Kerala), made an emergency landing at the Cochin International Airport (CIAL) on Thursday. The airline diverted to the Kochi airport due to a technical issue, which is related to the landing gear and tyre. According to the airline, there are no reports of injuries to passengers and crew on board. The emergency services were alerted as the Boeing 737-series plane landed safely. The flight with 160 on board had to be diverted to Cochin International Airport, following the landing gear issue.

The flight was at the tail end of its journey into Indian airspace when the plane began facing some issues with the right main landing gear tyres, the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) said in a statement. The flight crew informed the air traffic control and requested to divert to the nearest airport with a suitable runway for landing.

The runway was prepped and placed under full emergency services. The aircraft landed at around 09:07 AM IST under emergency protocol. After it touched down, further inspection confirmed the tyre burst. The pilots’ emergency landing landed the plane safely, and there are no indications that the landing gear had any other faults. The Aircraft landed safely and emergency services were alerted