Hyderabad: Two international flights were disrupted at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Shamshabad, on Sunday—one due to a bird strike, and another because of a mid-air technical fault.
An Etihad Airways flight (EY-353) from Abu Dhabi to Hyderabad hit a bird during landing early Sunday morning. The impact damaged the aircraft’s nose section. The pilot managed a safe landing, averting a major incident.
The same aircraft was scheduled to return to Abu Dhabi at 4:20 a.m. However, Air Traffic Control (ATC) cancelled the flight due to the damage.
This marks the second bird strike incident involving an international flight at the airport within a week.
Indigo flight returns mid-air after engine fault
In a separate incident, an Indigo flight (6E-1117) to Dhaka with 90 passengers took off at 9:40 a.m. and returned just 10 minutes later due to an engine issue.
The pilot detected a technical glitch mid-flight and immediately informed Shamshabad ATC. The aircraft landed safely without incident.
Passengers were later accommodated on an alternative flight to Dhaka.
