-KATHMANDU
To cope with the air traffic congestion following the hours of closure of the airport, after a Malindo Air Boeing 737-900 ER skidded off from the runway after crew rejected takeoff at the airport, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal has decided to operate 24 hours today to ease air traffic.
Director General of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), Sanjiv Gautam stated that, “To reduce current air traffic, we have already consulted with other airlines. We have also extended our duty hours and will be operating for 24 hours to ease air traffic congestion.”
The Malindo Air Boeing 737-900ER (9M-LNJ) aircraft en route to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from TIA skidded off the runway after crew rejected takeoff at high-speed (about 150 knots over ground) due to takeoff configuration warning on Thursday at around 9:45 p.m. (Local Time) night and stopped along a grassy area near the airport Approach Lighting System (ALS) between the airport’s runways with the gears on soft ground, escaping the disaster at the airport.
All 139 passengers those were onboard have successfully evacuated and the aircraft has put under the repair condition.
The plane was safely removed from the runway at 11 AM. With insufficient runway, 11 flights have been delayed.
