Runway excursion at Mumbai Airport; all flights suspended

Mumbai, June 3 (IANS) A FedEx cargo flight arriving from Bengaluru was involved in a runway excursion on Wednesday afternoon following which all flights at Mumbai Airport have been suspended, officials said.The incident occurred when the MD11 aircraft landed on the runway 14/32 Wednesday afternoon.Later, the aircraft was towed away from the runway but there were no disruptions in flight operations at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.An inquiry has been ordered into the incident though airport officials declined to comment whether the aircraft overshot the runway or skid off it.Following the incident and in view of the strong crosswinds lashing the airport, the MIAL - in consultation with the Airports Authority of India - has now suspended all flight operations between 2.30 pm and 7 pm on Wednesday.Earlier, the MIAL had announced that only 19, including 11 outgoing - of the scheduled daily 50 domestic flights - were expected to be operated today at CSMIA owing to Cyclone Nisarga precautions.
--IANS qn/skp/