All flight operations at Dabolim International Airport in Goa have been suspended for two hours on Saturday, after a detachable fuel tank attached to a MiG-29K fighter aircraft crash-landed on the runway, spilling fuel and causing minor damage to the landing and take-off strip.
A spokesperson for the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said on Saturday, "Due to the jettisoned fuel tank on the runway during MiG sortie, the operations are closed for two hours at Goa airport. Please bear with us."
AAI Goa tweeted from its official handle on Saturday afternoon. Airport operations are likely to commence at around 4 p.m.
An official of the Dabolim International Airport said that the Indian Navy personnel are on site, clearing the runway of the fuel that has spilled on it and carrying out minor repairs along the stretch where the fuel tank had fallen.
"These are external fuel tanks outfitted to aircraft in order to enable them to cover more distance. One such tank attached to a MiG-29K got jettisoned off the jet during a sortie and landed on the runway," he told presspersons.
As many as seven flights from different parts of the country, which were supposed to land at Goa airport, have already been diverted to Mangaluru airport in Karnataka.
The Navy operates MiG-29Ks off the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and the squadron is based at Naval air station, Goa.