Lucknow airport affected after Saudi Arabian Airlines plane develops snag during take-off, six flights diverted

Lucknow: A major accident was averted on Wednesday when the pilot of a Saudi Airlines flight applied emergency brakes when the nose wheel developed a technical snag during the take-off, an official said.

The Saudi Airline flight number SV895 from Lucknow to Riyadh carrying 300 passengers developed the technical problem on the runway and the pilot had to apply emergency brakes to avert an accident, the senior airport official said. As a result, the runway was blocked and all arrivals and departures had to be rescheduled, he said. Six arrivals from various airports were diverted to Indira Gandhi International aiport in Delhi, while three scheduled departures were held up, the official added.