KOCHI: A SriLankan Airlines plane from Colombo to Cochin International Airport landed “off-centred” by 1 metre from the runway on Sunday afternoon. Airport sources said the pilot of the flight UL 167 managed to halt the aircraft, following which passengers disembarked safely. The flight touched down at 3.55 pm at the runway one metre away from the designated path due to the strong crosswind.
An airport official said that all 248 passengers and crew were safe. Preliminary reports suggested that there was no damage to the aircraft. The runway was closed for 50 minutes in the aftermath, and then operations resumed. Only one flight was diverted during this time. A Jet flight from Mumbai was diverted to Coimbatore. The incident also delayed the return journey from Kochi to Colombo in the evening.
