Goa Dabolim Airport's (GOI) operations resumed at 3:52 pm on Tuesday after experiencing a temporary disruption earlier in the day due to a Navy MiG-29K encountering a tire burst during a taxi. The post Flights Diverted from Goa Airport...
GOA- Goa Dabolim Airport’s (GOI) operations resumed at 3:52 pm on Tuesday after experiencing a temporary disruption earlier in the day due to a Navy MiG-29K encountering a tire burst during a taxi.
S V T Dhananjaya Rao, the director of Goa Airport, mentioned that 11 flights bound for Dabolim during the runway closure period were redirected to alternative airports.
Photo: PICRYL | Defense Visual Information Distribution Service
MiG-29K Suffers Tire Burst
Given that it is the peak travel season (Christmas to New Year) for Goa, a substantial number of passengers find themselves stranded at Dabolim, awaiting departure from the region.
An equal number of passengers who were on diverted flights are currently waiting at alternative airports to fly into Goa.
In an official statement, the Navy reported, “During a routine taxi check at 12:14 pm on Tuesday at Dabolim airport, Goa, one naval fighter aircraft encountered a tire burst on the runway. Civil flights were diverted due to runway blockage. No damage to personnel or material. Runway was made available for operations from 3:30 pm.”
According to Goa airport director Rao, operations resumed at 3:52 pm, and regular take-offs and landings are now underway. It is anticipated that the backlog of flights will be cleared in a few hours.
Photo: IndiGo
Flights Diverted from Goa Airport
Vistara (UK) mentioned that one of its flights to Dabolim was diverted to Mopa, while an IndiGo (6E) Delhi-Goa flight was redirected to Mumbai during this period. A passenger scheduled for a Tuesday afternoon flight experienced a delay, with the departure now set just before midnight.
The passenger described the situation at the airport as chaotic, stating, “No one knows when their flight will take off.”
A passenger on a Delhi-Goa flight, who preferred not to be identified and was diverted to Mumbai, shared, “The flight departed as scheduled at 11:10 am from Delhi, reached Goa but couldn’t land there and was diverted to Mumbai. We have been stranded in the aircraft for over three hours since 2:15 pm with no updates from the staff on the situation. I have elderly parents, and this has turned our family holiday into a nightmare.”
Having flown in from New Zealand to celebrate the holidays with her parents, the beginning was far from exciting. She mentioned, “Around 5 pm, we were served some nuts and juice. Fortunately, we were carrying some food that kept us going.”
Photo: By Fredericknoronha – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=79065628
Passengers Discomfort
Passengers also reported that requests to use airport facilities in Mumbai were declined by the airline staff, citing a shortage of staff at Mumbai airport. Frustrated by the prolonged wait, some passengers descended the aircraft steps.
Goa Dabolim is a Naval airport with a civilian enclave. On Tuesday afternoon, an Indian Navy MiG-29K suffered a tire burst during a taxi while preparing for a routine sortie.
Consequently, flight movements had to be halted until the stuck fighter jet could be removed. Given the peak travel period, a significant number of passengers find themselves stranded at Dabolim.
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The post Flights Diverted from Goa Airport as MiG-29K Suffers Tire Burst appeared first on Aviation A2Z.