A Qatar Airways Delhi-Doha flight on Monday was diverted to Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi for an emergency landing due to indication of smoke in the cargo hold, an airline spokesperson said.
Flight QR579, which took off from the national capital at 3.50 am and was scheduled to reach Doha at 7.15 am, landed at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport at 5.45 am.
“The aircraft landed safely at Karachi where it was met by emergency services and passengers disembarked orderly via stairs,” the spokesperson said, seeking anonymity.
While an investigation was launched into the matter, a separate flight was arranged to fly all 283 passengers from Karachi to Doha, the spokesperson added.
Pakistan civil aviation authority (CAA) spokesman Saifur Rehman also confirmed that the flight had landed safely at the Karachi airport. “The captain declared an emergency after detection of smoke in the aircraft’s cargo hold,” he said.
The aircraft crew and passengers were taken to the airport lounge and provided emergency services following which they left safely on the relief flight, Rehman said. “The pilot requested to make an emergency landing and the control tower and CAA personnel responded immediately given the nature of the problem,” he added.
According to officials familiar with the matter, as the runway at Karachi airport was cleared for the emergency landing, a flight from Doha, bound to land in Karachi, had to continue circling overhead for a while. Several other flights had to wait before landing due to the emergency situation, they said.
{{/usCountry}}According to officials familiar with the matter, as the runway at Karachi airport was cleared for the emergency landing, a flight from Doha, bound to land in Karachi, had to continue circling overhead for a while. Several other flights had to wait before landing due to the emergency situation, they said.
{{/usCountry}}(With PTI inputs)