BENGALURU: A
SpiceJet aircraft flying in from Hyderabad damaged three runway edge lights on landing at
Kempegowda International Airport (
KIA) in Bengaluru on Friday night, forcing the authorities to suspend operations for 40 minutes. There was, however, no damage to the aircraft and all passengers were deplaned safely.
The incident, an official said, occurred when the plane, SG 1238, was taxiing after landing. "During the landing roll, the aircraft veered off to the left and was aligned to the central line by the pilot. It taxied normally to the bay later but four runway lights got damaged," a SpiceJet spokesperson said.
The runway was closed from 10.47pm to 11.28pm and at least 10 flights were diverted - eight to Chennai and one each to
Trichy and Coimbatore, a
BIAL official said.
Prior to the incident, at least seven flights were diverted to Chennai (6) and
Cochin (1) between 6.57pm and 7.35pm on Friday due to heavy rain and thunderstorms at KIA. Several flights were delayed due to poor visibility.
Representative image 
