Mumbai airport not operational yet
Airport officials trying to extricate the Turkish Airlines aircraft which had skidded off the Mumbai airport’s main runway, on Friday, expressed optimism that by Monday, the salvaging operation would be over.
Meanwhile, the main runway which was closed following the incident, continued to remain inoperative with flights being diverted to the secondary runway. Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) official said here that the delays of domestic as well as international flights “ranged between 30 minutes to an hour.”
However, the official said that the technicians and engineers who have been working non-stop for the past 65 hours, late Sunday managed to wrench out the nose wheel of the airbus from the mud where the aircraft had slid. " Now it is just a matter of time," the official added.
The Turkish Airlines flight, Istanbul-Mumbai, on Friday, due to heavy rains, on landing, slid off the rapid exit runway and ended up at the grassy bay adjacent to the airport fencing. All 104 passengers including crew were evacuated and no one had been hurt.
