A major incident was averted at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) after an Ariana Afghan flight from Kabul landed on a runway meant only for take-offs. Authorities have launched a probe over possible lapses in air traffic coordination.
Flight FG 311 from Kabul landed at Runway 29R at 12.07 pm on Sunday. Fortunately, no aircraft was lined up for departure at the time, preventing what could have been a major accident.
While Runway 29R is designated for departures and 29L for arrivals, the two are occasionally interchanged depending on operational requirements, including wind direction.
In this case, the probe is being carried out to determine if the Airbus A310 twin-jet aircraft landed on the runway by mistake or whether it was done on the instructions of the Delhi Air Traffic Controller.
