Flight from Jeddah makes emergency landing at Karachi airport

KARACHI: A private airline flight from Jeddah to Lahore made an emergency landing at Karachi airport on Monday morning after developing a technical fault.

According to aviation officials, the aircraft’s captain requested emergency landing clearance from Karachi Air Traffic Control when a sudden malfunction was detected mid-flight.

“The crew acted swiftly, and the pilot’s decision to divert to Karachi prevented a possible mishap,” a CAA official said.

The Serene airline plane, carrying more than 200 passengers, most of them Umrah pilgrims, landed safely at the Karachi’s Jinnah International airport.

Fire tenders and rescue vehicles were already on standby as per standard emergency protocols. Fortunately, no casualties or injuries were reported.

CAA issues show cause notices to two airlines over flight delays

According to initial inspection fuel leakage was detected in the aircraft.

CAA engineers, along with Serene Air’s technical staff, began inspecting and repairing the aircraft. “Such incidents are rare but possible due to the heavy operational load during peak Umrah season,” an airline engineer explained.

The emergency landing sparked concern among passengers’ families waiting in Lahore.

It may be recalled that the airline had been served a show cause notice by the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) early this year to respond to a series of prolonged flight delays and numerous cancellations causing inconvenience to hundreds of passengers.

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