A Kozhikode-bound Air India Express (AIE) flight from Riyadh was diverted and landed at the International Airport here in the wee hours of Sunday after the pilot detected a fault in one of its tyres mid-air, sources said here.
Incidentally, the faulty tyre of the AIE IX1322, carrying 180 passengers, burst after its safe landing at the Kochi airport, they said.
The pilot decided to divert the aircraft to Kochi airport after a tyre issue was noticed, sources said.
The decision to land at Kochi airport was taken considering the safety aspect, they said.
While the Kochi international airport is the biggest one in the state, the international airport at Kozhikode is a tabletop one, which has limited space at the ends of the runway.
The decision of the pilot to divert the flight to Kochi proved right as its faulty tyre burst immediately after the passengers were safely deboarded following its landing at the airport at 3.16 am, sources said.
The Air India Express arranged another aircraft in the morning for facilitating the journey of the deboarded passengers to Kozhikode, they said.
A Kuwait-bound Air India Express flight had made an emergency landing at the Kozhikode airport last Friday after a fire warning in the cargo compartment.