 | « Back to article | Print this article |
The main runway of the international airport in Mumbai remained shut for the second day on Saturday as incessant rains hampered the towing away of the Turkish Airline plane stuck in mud near the taxiway.
Officials hoped that the main runway would become functional by 5 pm.
"Continuous rain in the airport area has made the ground near the main runway slushy, preventing movement of equipment for towing away the stranded plane," said a spokesperson of the Mumbai International Airport Ltd.
The aircraft from Istanbul, with 104 passengers and crew on board, skidded off the taxiway in the wee hours of Friday. The landing gear of the Airbus 340-300 got stuck in the mud near the runway, disrupting flight operations.
The arrival and departure of flights from the second runway has been delayed by around 30 minutes.
Earlier, airport authorities had said the main runway would be reopened for flights by noon.