Lahore airport's runway closed after cargo plane tyre bursts

LAHORE: Lahore airport’s main runway was temporarily closed after a private courier company’s cargo plane suffered a tyre burst on Thursday night, leading to flight delays and cancellations, ARY News reported.

According to details, the incident occurred at 7:30 pm when four tyres of a foreign company cargo aircraft exploded during take-off at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal Airport.

After the incident, the rescue vehicles rushed to the runway to move the aircraft away from Lahore’s only functional runway. The aircraft, according to sources, still remain stuck at the runway after four hours long efforts by the airport administration.

According to airport sources, the runway is likely to be cleared by 4:00 am tomorrow (Friday) as efforts are underway to unblock the secondary runway of Lahore airport.

The incident has also resulted in flights delay and the cancellation of several domestic flights.

Private airline flight 406 from Karachi to Lahore has been diverted to Islamabad airport while the departure of flight PIA flight PK-305 of PIA from Lahore to Karachi has also been delayed.

According to the airport administration, the closure of the runway is likely to affect the schedule of more flights.