A Boeing 737 aircraft of Air India Express with 104 passengers and eight crew on board had to make made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport here on Friday after it developed a hydraulic failure while on a scheduled flight from Sharjah to Kozhikode international airport.
Flight IX 1346 (Boeing 73-8HG) bearing call sign AXB1346 had left Sharjah at 7.20 am and was scheduled to land at Kozhikode International Airport at 12.40 pm. It was diverted to Thiruvananthapuram while cruising at 39,000 ft over the Arabian Sea around 12 pm.
Thiruvananthapuram was preferred over Kochi International Airport, the immediate next airport on the flight path, due to operational advantages. The aircraft landed safely under full emergency measures a little more than half an hour later, sources at the airport said.
Safety and engineering agencies were on standby as it landed and passengers alighted, following which it was guided to a remote bay for inspections. Another aircraft of Air India Express has been commissioned to ferry the stranded passengers from Thiruvananthapuram to Kozhikode at 4 pm, according to the sources.