All passengers onboard the international aircraft were reported safe.   — File Photo by Reuters

NAWABSHAH: An Air India flight heading for New Delhi from Abu Dhabi with 130 passengers and crew on board which made a technical landing early Monday morning at the Nawabshah Airport after developing a technical fault has returned after the necessary repairs carried out by Indian engineers who came in another aircraft from New Delhi.

This was stated by the spokesman of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Pakistan, Pervez George, here on Monday.

He said that on the request of the captain of the aircraft another plane along with eight engineers and technicians were sent from India.

That plane landed at Nawabshah at 1.17 p.m. and took off for New Delhi at 3.01 p.m. with all the passengers and crew.

In the meantime, the engineers and crew carried out the necessary repairs and the faulty plane took off for New Delhi at 4.05 p.m.

The CAA spokesman said that the Defence Secretary, Nargis Sethi, had instructed the Director General of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Nadeem Khan Yousufzai, to extend every facility and assistance as they are guests and full hospitality be extended to them.

The Indian captain was offered use of the airport lounges for the flight's 122 passengers and eight crew, an official said, but refused.

“We had offered full cooperation to them but the Airbus captain did not allow the passengers to disembark and requested just for drinking water,” said Sultan Hasan, spokesman for the state-run Pakistan International Airlines

The passengers and crew later boarded the Air India Airbus 320 that had brought the engineers and technicians, and the plane left for New Delhi at 3.01 p.m.

Meanwhile, after the necessary repairs, the plane that had made technical landing at Nawabshah also left for New Delhi at 4.05 p.m., the CAA spokesman added.

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