KHON KAEN, Nov 4 — Khon Kaen provincial airport is closed today as a Thai Airways International (THAI) aircraft slipped off the runway last night.
The plane is expected to be towed away today, while arriving flights are being diverted to Udon Thani airport.
A THAI’s Airbus A330 aircraft Flight TG 047 (Khon Kaen-Bangkok) with two pilots, 11 crew members and 246 passengers slipped from the runway and became stuck in soft soil while preparing for takeoff at 8.50pm.
This morning airport personnel were using balloons to lift the plane as it is too big to be handled with a crane.
No one was injured but the incident led to the airport closure.
Buses were deployed to transport stranded passengers to Udon Thani airport where they resumed their trip to Bangkok.
Amphawan Wannako, Udon Thani airport director, said eight flights of THAI, THAI Smile, Nok Air and AirAsia would be routed through Udon Thani airport today with the airlines deploying buses to transport their passengers to Khon Kaen.
Mr Amphawan said Udon Thani airport normally handled 26 flights a day and could serve more flights.
