NEW DELHI: A passenger opened an emergency exit and jumped from an Air Arabia plane after it landed in Chennai, triggering a temporary closure of the airport’s main runway early Sunday, delaying several flights and forcing them to be diverted, airport officials familiar with the matter said.
Flight G9-471 from Sharjah, operated by an Airbus A320, landed at around 3:23 am on Sunday. Officials said the accident occurred on the taxiway one minute after the plane landed, causing the plane to stop.
Officials said that airport authorities had to close the main runway (07/25) at 3:25 a.m. “as a precautionary measure.”
Chennai Airport is one of the major aviation hubs in South India. It operates with intersecting runways: the main runway 07/25, and the secondary runway 12/30. The airport handles more than 20 million passengers annually and serves as the main gateway for flights connecting the Gulf region.
One of the officials said: “The passenger, identified as Muhammad Sharif Muhammad Najm al-Din, 29 years old, jumped from the plane’s emergency exit on Route 5. This accident occurred at around 3:25 am.”
He added, “The airline employees informed the security personnel about the matter and took the passenger to the local police, who detained him.”
Another official said the plane was towed only around 4:25 a.m. and stopped in the Gulf.
“Runway operations resumed around 4:35 am,” another official said.
The second official said: “While the main runway was unavailable, some operations shifted to the secondary runway (12/30).”
According to officials, the next British Airways flight, BA0035 from London, has been diverted to Bengaluru due to the lockdown. Officials also said that at least five flights were delayed during this period, including flights to Doha, Ahmedabad and Dubai, with delays of up to 35-40 minutes.
“Departing flights such as 6E-1061 to Bangkok and EY-0341 to Abu Dhabi were routed via Runway 12 during the closure. An arrival flight from Abu Dhabi was also handled on the secondary runway,” a third official said.
However, officials insisted that the short disruption did not cause any major impact on operations.
The airport official said, “The passenger, who hails from Pudukottai, insists that his condition is unstable and therefore he jumped from the plane, but the security agencies are investigating the matter.”
He added: “The return flight to Sharjah, No. G9 472, was delayed for more than three hours due to this matter. It left at 7.41 am with 109 passengers on board.”
