Ariana Afghan flight makes wrong runway landing at Delhi Airport; major disaster averted

New Delhi: In a major safety lapse, an Ariana Afghan Airlines flight from Kabul mistakenly landed Sunday afternoon on a runway designated for departures at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, according to a report by the Times of India.

According to TOI report, the Airbus A310 had been cleared to land on runway 29L, but instead touched down on runway 29R, which is meant only for takeoffs.

Fortunately, no aircraft was queued for departure at the time, preventing what could have been a serious accident, the report noted.

Aviation officials reportedly confirmed the mistake, describing it as a “serious incident”. The authorities have launched an investigation and will formally communicate with Afghanistan’s civil aviation authorities regarding the matter.

Runway 29R is used for takeoffs and 29L for landings at IGIA.