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Saudia plane skids at Mumbai airport
Arab News JEDDAH: The passengers and crew of a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight had a close shave when the plane skidded on the runway during landing in inclement weather at the Mumbai international airport in Sahar on Saturday.
But the drama continued well into the night with passengers left stranded at the airport after deplaning for another six hours for their luggage to arrive from the plane.
“We were told, after a three-hour wait on the runway, that we had to wait for another six hours before we get our luggage,” one of the passengers said while describing the ordeal.
The skid was triggered by a twin tire burst. Air traffic was disrupted briefly at the airport with the plane stranded on the runway. After the initial shrieks of fear, passengers were in an ambivalent mood over the incident and its aftermath.
“All 143 passengers and the crew of SV Flight 744 are safe,” said Saudia Vice President of Public Relations Abdullah Alajhar while confirming the incident at the Mumbai airport.
“Tire No. 3 and 4 burst soon after landing forcing the runway closure,” he said, adding that the need to change the tires or efforts to pull the plane to a parking position caused the three-hour delay in taking the passengers to the terminal.
Passengers said they heard minor “thuds” (possibly the tires exploding) during landing as the plane slid to a halt. “I was just happy that everything was OK when we came to a standstill,” said a passenger, who did not wish to be named. “There was a collective sigh of relief. But as time wore on, the frustration of being cooped up in the plane welled over,” he added.
Many passengers continued to inquire about reasons for the delay in deplaning, and the crew had to explain repeatedly that a “clearance” from the airport authority was needed and that this was being acquired.
Alajhar said that, according to the Saudia manager in Mumbai, it took around one hour 50 minutes to get clearance from the airport authority to get vehicles up to the stricken plane.

from arab news

https://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=124297&d=5&m=7&y=2009