A Sharjah flight, loaded with 160 passengers, collided with a truck: The truck was parked near the runway during construction work on the parallel taxi track at Surat Airport.
No passengers were harmed in the incident, but the flight’s wing was damaged.
The Air India Express Sharjah-Surat flight met with an accident at Surat International Airport on Wednesday night around 23:15. There were 160 passengers onboard this 180-seater aircraft.
After landing or while heading towards the flight apron area, the flight collided with a truck parked near the runway. Fortunately, no passengers were harmed, but the flight’s wing was damaged.
According to official sources from the airport, the process of constructing parallel taxi tracks at Surat International Airport is underway with full force. Trucks are being used in the operation to excavate soil. However, last night, the driver left the truck parked near the runway’s edge.
Air India Express grounded the flight and ordered an investigation into the incident.
The construction work on the parallel taxi track has been ongoing for about five years, but the complete parallel taxi track has not been finished yet. A parallel taxi track has been constructed towards Vesu, but the Civil Aviation Directorate has not granted permission for its use. Meanwhile, work on the parallel taxi track towards Doomas is underway.
This work is progressing at a sluggish pace. In May 2021, the director of Surat Airport had issued a notice to the construction company, but the work on the parallel taxi track has not been completed yet.
Several flights have encountered difficulties in landing.
Several flights have faced difficulties in landing at Surat Airport due to the construction of the parallel taxi track adjacent to the main runway. Because of this, a flight couldn’t land on the runway on February 27th, causing it to circle in the air.
Similarly, on February 28th, another flight was waiting on the runway, and two other flights did not receive landing clearance, leading them to also circle in the air. Such issues continue to occur regularly.
