Flight operations at Pune Airport resumed to normal on Saturday, April 18, after a brief disruption in departure and arrivals due to a runway incident involving an Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jet, which experienced a hard landing due to a technical glitch. This has led to the temporary closure of the runway.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol gave an update on Pune airport operations said repair work of the affected runway has been completed and departure operations at the airport have begun.
"The runway at Pune Airport was temporarily unavailable following an incident involving an IAF aircraft. Runway repair work has since been completed on a war footing, with safety maintained as the top priority throughout," said MoS Murlidhar Mohol.
Also Read | Pune Airport Runway Temporarily Shut, Flights Diverted After IAF Aircraft Makes Hard Landing.
"Departure operations will resume from 07:30 AM, and arrival operations will commence from 08:00 AM. Air traffic in Pune is expected to gradually return to normal over the course of the day," he added.
Earlier, Pune Airport Director Santosh Dhoke said the incident occurred at around 10.25 pm on Friday, April 17, when an IAF fighter jet experienced an undercarriage failure while landing. The aircraft was at the runway, which had blocked several flight operations. According to data, over 80 flights has been cancelled overnight.
IAF issued a statement after the incident said all crew members are safe and there is no damage to the aircraft.