Technical snag diverts AirAsia flight to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah
An AirAsia flight en-route to Bandar Seri Begawan from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was diverted to the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) in Sabah, Malaysia Friday afternoon due to technical difficulties.
AirAsia Berhad in an emailed statement confirmed the incident on flight AK278 due to land at the Brunei International Airport around 4pm.
The statement added that a new flight left at 7.13pm from KKIA and landed safely in Bandar Seri Begawan.
"Our guests' safety is of utmost importance, we sincerely apologise for any inconveniences caused," the airline added in the statement.
A passenger travelling with her children who wished to remain anonymous, said while approaching the Brunei International Airport, the pilot and the flight crew announced that the flight was being re-routed to KKIA due to some problems with the landing gear.
She said they were also told that the airport authorities at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 found debris on the runway believed to be from the aircraft.
However, airline and airport officials did not verify.
She said they were told KKIA had a longer runway to accommodate emergency landings, hence the decision to re-route the flight.