A plane was severely damaged after a bird hit it while taking off from Lahore International Airport on Tuesday morning, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The flight of a foreign airline, TK-715, was on its way to Istanbul from Lahore when it was hit by a bird, severely damaging the plane's wing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vigTlXKRpLg

The plane was carrying nearly 359 passengers. The pilot succeeded in landing the plane back at Lahore Airport safely.

All the passengers were shifted to the International Departure Lounge.

Later, the flight was deferred indefinitely and the passengers were told to go home, sources said.

Also Read: Plane averts crash after bird hits it during landing at Islamabad airport

The passengers refused to go home and staged a protest in the departure lounge demanding of the foreign airline to shift them to hotels.

The Airport Security Force (ASF) called in reinforcements to stop the passengers from continuing their protest.

Later, the damaged plane was grounded and the departure of the passengers were cancelled until the availability of a new plane. Until then, the passengers were shifted to hotels.

Lahore Airport Manager Akhtar Mirza said the abundance of birds around the airport was due to the filth in the residential colonies. He said the shooters have been deployed to deter the birds. He said they were trying to clear the runway limits from the birds and have appealed to the citizens to cooperate with them in this regard.

CAA director-general and spokesman declined to comment on the development when contacted.

Reporter Saeed Ahmad Saeed