Phuket airport reopens after Air Berlin's emergency landing
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Phuket International Airport reopened Friday after being closed for several hours following an emergency landing by an Air Berlin flight.
Flight AB-7425 to Abu Dhabi took off from Phuket at 9:30 pm (1430GMT) Thursday but was forced to return 40 minutes later due an engine problem on its left wing, airport director Pratuang Sonkham said.
"It burst a tyre upon landing and blocked the runway, forcing us to the shut the airport," Pratuang said on the phone.
The Airbus A-330 departed at 3:30 am Friday, when the airport was reopened.
"No one was injured in the incident," Pratuang said. There were 249 passengers and crew on the delayed flight.
Around 1,000 other passengers were temporarily stranded at the airport during the closure, The Phuket Gazette reported.//DPA
