Flight operations at India’s Pune Airport resumed Saturday morning after an overnight suspension caused by an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft crash. The aircraft suffered an undercarriage failure during landing late Friday night and became stuck on the runway.
The technical snag rendered the runway unusable, which forced authorities to halt all flight movements. The crew on board the aircraft SU-30 MKI remained safe and no injuries were reported.
Repair and clearance teams worked through the night to restore the runway.
Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol confirmed the incident via social media. He stated that air traffic in Pune is “expected to gradually return to normal over the course of the day.”
The IAF released a statement regarding the closure of the shared military-civilian airfield.
“Pune runway is temporarily unavailable due to an incident involving an IAF aircraft. The aircrew are safe, and there is no damage to civil property,” the force stated.
The IAF added: “Efforts are underway to operationalise the runway and resume normal operations at the earliest.”
Initial estimates from IAF Air Traffic Control suggested it would take four to five hours to remove the obstruction. During this timeframe, the single runway remained closed, impacting schedules services for civilian passengers.
Pune’s airport serves as a base for frontline combat squadrons and handles thousands of daily civilian passengers. The dual-use nature of the facility meant the disruption resulted in immediate delays and diversions.
