The Tiruchirappalli to Sharjah flight had 144 passengers on board.
An Air India Express flight which reported a hydraulic failure shortly after take-off from the Tiruchirappalli airport in Tamil Nadu has landed safely.
The flight, AXB 613, which was headed to Sharjah with 144 passengers on board, had taken off at 5.40 pm and reported the snag soon after. The plane was asked to turn back but since it was not advisable to attempt a precautionary landing with full fuel on board, the pilots burned some of it by flying around the airport.
The plane remained airborne for over two and a half hours, finally landing at 8.15 pm to cheers and clapping from passengers.
Reports about a possible problem with the landing gear began trickling in around 7.50 pm and the Tiruchirappalli airport made preparations for an emergency landing, keeping several ambulances on standby
A video of the plane touching down showed the landing gear engaged properly.
Airport authorities had said around 8 pm that the plane was hovering around Tiruchirappalli to burn fuel and, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar, the flight was in the same general area for about two hours.
Tiruchirappalli Airport Director Gopalakrishnan was quoted as saying by news agency IANS that 20 ambulances and 18 fire engines were on standby at the airport for an emergency landing.
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu had asked officials to remain on alert and aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) was also coordinating.
