Sitapur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], June 16 : A passenger in the Saudia Airlines flight, which had reported smoke and sparks on the wheels of the plane at the Lucknow airport, recalled the swift action by authorities, claiming that from the point of detecting the smoke to containing the incident was completed in just 20 minutes.
"There were around 284 passengers onboard. At the time of landing, the pilot pulled the emergency brakes. Immediately, Fire Brigade vehicles at the airport came to extinguish the smoke in the aircraft's wheel. This took about 20 minutes, and soon after we disembarked," the passenger told ANI.
After smoke was detected from a Saudia Airlines plane that landed at Lucknow airport, Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) rushed to the spot and made sure that the smoke was contained and damage to the aircraft averted, Lucknow airport officials said on Monday.
According to officials, no injuries were reported in the incident, which occurred on the morning of June 15. The passengers were safely disembarked, and there was no impact on airport operations.
The flight was returning from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, carrying Hajj pilgrims. Smoke and sparks were detected on the plane's wheels shortly after it landed and while it was on the taxiway.
"On the morning of 15th June, smoke was detected from the wheels of a Saudia Airlines aircraft that landed at Lucknow airport from Jeddah. The Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) team rushed to the spot. Working with the Saudia team, the smoke was contained, and damage to the aircraft was averted. The passengers were disembarked safely, and there was no impact on airport operations," an official said.
This year, the Hajj was performed between June 4 and June 9 in Saudi Arabia. The first batch of annual Hajj pilgrims from India started from early May itself. According to Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, a total of 1,22,518 hajj pilgrims undertook the sacred journey, with the first flights taking off from Lucknow and Hyderabad itself.