Hong Kong, June 18: The plane's tire broke during an emergency landing at Hong Kong International Airport, causing hundreds of other flights to be affected.
One of the two active runways at Hong Kong airport had to be closed for more than 8 hours on June 17, after a cargo plane broke its wheel during an emergency landing , causing hundreds of other flights to be delayed.
The Hong Kong Airport Authority (AAH) said on the evening of June 17 that about 450 out of 932 flights scheduled from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. the same day were delayed because of an incident on the northern runway. Therefore, only the southern runway of Hong Kong International Airport remains operational during the above period.
A third runway has been closed since 2022 for upgrades and will reopen this year.
According to the South China Morning Post , the cargo plane was going to Anchorage (Alaska, USA), but asked to return urgently at around 6:00 a.m. on June 17, about 2 hours after leaving Hong Kong . One of the plane's wheels blew out while landing at 7:12 a.m.
None of the five people on the Boeing 747 were injured. The plane was pulled off the runway at about 3:15 p.m. the same day.
Authorities have requested Atlas Air (USA), the operator of cargo flight code 5Y4304, to submit a report according to regulations. AAH said damage to the plane's hydraulic system caused the maintenance process to take a long time.
The northern runway reopened at 3:45 p.m. on June 17. In response to the delay, the airport's automated passenger movement system and customer service counters have extended operating hours to assist passengers.
Cleaning contractors and baggage cart operators also increased staff numbers, while airlines deployed additional staff to assist passengers.
In addition, authorities also mobilized many public passenger transport operators to increase services between the airport and the city. Flight delays have eased in the early hours of June 18.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper