Full emergency at Kochi airport as Air Arabia flight develops hydraulic failure

A full emergency was declared at Kochi airport on Friday after an incident of hydraulic failure was reported from an inbound Air Arabia flight, carrying 222 passengers and seven crew members, from Sharjah, the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) said. All passengers and crew were safe.

“Aircraft landed safely at runway 09 at 19:29 hrs,” the CIAL said, adding that only towing was required.

The full emergency was withdrawn at 8.22pm. The CIAL said all were safe. However, there was no immediate response from the airline.

CIAL MD, S Suhas, said a concerted effort and timely coordination helped CIAL to see through the airport emergency situation.

“Though such a situation occurred after a long period, it was proved that the safety systems worked effectively. We could resume the operations in 45 minutes,” news agency PTI quoted Suhas as saying.

The CIAL said two flights were diverted during the incident.

“GO FIRST G8 336 was diverted to Kannur at 1940 hrs and Air Arabia 3L125 was diverted to Coimbatore at 1950 hrs,” airport authorities said.