Indian air force fighter jet’s hard-landing shuts down Pune airport

IAF_MCC

An incident involving an Indian air force (IAF) aircraft rendered the runway at Pune International Airport inoperative, forcing multiple incoming flights to be diverted, reported Indian media.

The aircraft involved in the landing incident is a Su30 MKI of the Indian air force.

In a post on X, the IAF’s Media Coordination Centre said the runway had been made unavailable due to the incident, adding that all aircrew were safe and there was no damage to civil property.

“Pune runway is temporarily unavailable due to an incident involving an IAF aircraft. The aircrew are safe and there is no damage to civil property. Efforts are underway to operationalize the runway and resume normal operations at the earliest," the IAF said.

Officials said the restoration work at the Pune runway is complete and that it will reopen soon. 

According to flight tracking data, at least eight flights scheduled to land in Pune were diverted to multiple airports, including Surat International Airport, Manohar International Airport, Navi Mumbai International Airport, Chennai International Airport and Coimbatore International Airport.

Passengers on affected flights faced delays and rerouting as authorities worked to restore operations.

This is the second such incident involving a Su30 MKI aircraft of the IAF.

On March 5 this year, an IAF Sukhoi Su-30MKI-3 crashed in the Karbi Anglong district, Assam, killing both pilots.