An Alliance Air flight from Delhi to Bilaspur suffered a tyre burst while landing at Bilaspur airport on Friday, but all 41 people on board were safely evacuated, officials said. Flight 9I613 was carrying 37 passengers and four crew members when the incident occurred at around 11 am.
No injuries were reported. The passengers and crew were safely evacuated from the aircraft and escorted from the runway to the terminal building. Following the incident, Alliance Air cancelled the flight’s scheduled onward service from Bilaspur. Following the privatisation of Air India, Alliance Air began operating independently under AI Asset Holding Limited (AIAHL), a government-owned special purpose vehicle. Headquartered in New Delhi, Alliance Air has operational hubs in Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai. Alliance Air has also played a key role in the Centre’s UDAN (Regional Connectivity Scheme), which aims to improve affordable air connectivity to underserved and unserved regions. Further details about the incident are awaited. (With IANS inputs)
Alliance Air is a government-owned regional airline that primarily connects tier-2 and tier-3 cities with major metropolitan centres. The airline was established in April 1996 as a subsidiary of Indian Airlines and was earlier known as Air India Regional. Its fleet mainly comprises turboprop aircraft, including the ATR 72-600, ATR 42-600 and Dornier 228. The airline currently connects 55 destinations across India, with more than 80 departures each day. On April 27, 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the first UDAN flight on the Shimla-Delhi route, with Alliance Air serving as the launch carrier.
The aircraft’s left-side tyre was punctured during the landing, according to officials.
