RAWALPINDI: The runway at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport was closed for flights for an hour on Saturday afternoon when the hydraulic system of a plane taking off for Jeddah failed.

A senior official of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) told Dawn that the flight was empty and was leaving for Saudi Arabia to bring back pilgrims when oil started leaking from the plane.

He said the flight was immediately cancelled and the runway closed to clear the oil which had spilled all over the runway.

He said the decision had been taken to prevent any incident involving other flights. Later the Pakistan International Airlines staff were called to inspect the plane.

Benazir Bhutto International Airport Manager Ayaz Jadoon confirmed that the runway was closed for an hour from 1pm to 2pm and during this period boarding of passengers to other flights was not halted.

He said the one hour delay affected many flights but after the runway was cleared, smooth flow of air traffic resumed.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2014