Flight operations at Dabolim International Airport in Goa resumed on Saturday afternoon after it was suspended temporarily, the Indian Navy has stated.
Earlier, 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.
"FLASH.... Flight operations resumed at aaigoaairportAAI_Official," the Navy tweeted around 3 p.m. on Saturday.
A spokesperson for the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said, "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.
An official of the Dabolim International Airport said that the Indian Navy personnel were 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, had been diverted.
The Navy operates MiG-29Ks off the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and the squadron is based at Naval air station, Goa.
Three flights diverted to Mangaluru
Three Goa-bound aircrafts were diverted to Mangaluru International Airport on Saturday.
A senior official in the Mangaluru airport told The Hindu that the aircrafts will return to Goa once they get a green signal from the Goa airport. The runway at Goa airport is expected to be opened after 3.30 p.m, the official said.
He said that in addition to the aircrafts diverted to Mangaluru, three more aircrafts were diverted to Bengaluru and one to Hyderabad. They will also return to Goa later.
(Inputs from K. Raviprasada in Mangaluru)
