Mumbai: An Air India Express aircraft operating its Hyderabad-Phuket (Thailand) flight suffered a nose-wheel issue at Phuket Airport, the airline said on Wednesday.

Authorities suspended flight operations at Phuket airport following the incident since the aircraft is stuck on the runway, sources said.

The number of passengers onboard the Boeing 737-Max8 aircraft was not immediately known.

"We confirm that our Hyderabad-Phuket flight on March 11 experienced an issue with the nose wheel at Phuket Airport," Air India Express said in a statement.

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Nose wheel is a critical component of an aircraft's landing gear system.

What is nose wheel issue?

A nose-wheel issue refers to a mechanical or operational problem involving an aircraft’s front landing gear, which helps steer the plane, absorb the impact during landing, and maintain directional control while on the ground.

Flight IX 938 took off from Hyderabad at 6.42 am instead of its scheduled departure time of 6.20 am, and landed at Phuket International Airport 11.40 am local time, according to flight tracking website flightradar24.com.

"The crew followed all standard protocols, and guests were deplaned," Air India Express said in the statement.

(PTI)