Tribhuvan International Airport Resumes Operations After Turkish Airlines Incident

Kathmandu, May 11: Operations at Tribhuvan International Airport resumed this morning after being suspended for about 1.5 hours following a fire involving a Turkish Airlines aircraft during landing.

The incident occurred when the tyres of Turkish Airlines flight TKI 726, arriving from Istanbul, caught fire during landing at the airport. All passengers and crew members on board were safely evacuated through the emergency exit.

According to the Acting General Manager of the airport, Teknath Sitaula, flight operations had been halted since 6:45 am as a precautionary measure. The airport reopened approximately one and a half hours later after the situation was brought under control.

Following the reopening, an Air India aircraft landed at around 8:30 am, while a Fly Dubai flight touched down at 8:35 am. Several outbound flights also resumed operations shortly afterwards.

Airport Security Office Superintendent of Police Rajkumar Silwal said the fire was quickly extinguished with the assistance of airport fire engines. The aircraft was brought to a halt on the runway before passengers were evacuated safely.

The Turkish Airlines flight was carrying 273 passengers and 11 crew members from Istanbul to Kathmandu. Authorities are further assessing the incident.