AirAsia flight makes emergency landing, none hurt

The flight was on its way from Goa to Bengaluru

A technical snag forced a Bengaluru-bound AirAsia flight from Goa's Dabolim airport to perform an emergency landing barely 10 minutes after take off on Monday morning. The landing was safe, and none of the 168 passengers or crew was hurt.

In a statement, AirAsia informed: "AirAsia India flight I5 1325 from Goa to Bengaluru returned to Goa shortly after take off due to a technical fault. The aircraft landed safely at the Goa airport, and all affected guests are being attended to by our ground staff as the aircraft undergoes recovery. We regret the service disruption and apologise for any inconvenience caused."

The flight had departed at 7.45 am, but the snag forced the aircraft to be back by around 8 am. The technical issues were linked to the hydraulic plates. Although passengers were told they would have to wait for an hour, no information was forthcoming. A few of the travellers later opted to take a 6 pm flight to Bengaluru via Hyderabad.

A friend of one of the passengers later tweeted: "60-70 people stranded at the Goa airport for the past 8 hours. Air Asia employees at the baggage check-in are avoiding communication with passengers. The cafes at the airport are closed that no food since morning. This is what she conveyed."

The Goa incident comes just a day after a Jet Airways flight from Hyderabad to Indore made an emergency landing at the Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar airport in Madhya Pradesh. There were 103 people aboard the Sunday flight. One of the engines of the Jet Airways flight had failed.