A Swiss International Air Lines Boeing 777-300ER with 319 passengers and 18 crew on board suffered a runway mishap in Astana after diverting to the Kazakh capital due to a medical emergency.
Shortly after the aircraft, operating as flight LX161 from Tokyo to Zurich, landed, it ran off the pavement and was mired in muddy grass.
“The landing was uneventful,” Swiss said on 17 August. “As the taxiway at Astana airport was closed, the crew had to turn the aircraft 180 degrees on the runway. The aircraft’s nose wheel got caught in the grass and got stuck [and]… had to be towed back onto the runway.”
As a result, the aircraft could not continue the flight, stranding the travellers overnight.
Images posted to social media show that the affected aircraft was HB-JNI, which, according to Cirium fleets data, entered service with the Zurich-based airline in January 2018. The carrier has 12 of the type in its fleet.
On 18 August, Swiss said Lufthansa Group sister airline Austrian Airlines sent a 777-200 to Astana to rescue 331 passengers and crew, and return them to Europe. The flight was due to arrive in Vienna around 14:15 local time, and a Swiss 777 has been dispatched to the Austrian capital to collect the passengers for their onward journey to Zurich.
“The aircraft in Astana is being inspected on site for damage caused by the turnaround manoeuvre,” Swiss says. The airline adds that it had set up a task force with specialists from all relevant departments to assist the passengers and crew. But because Swiss does not have personnel in Astana, ground handling of the aircraft and passengers “was delayed by around four hours”.
“In the meantime, Swiss technical specialists have arrived in Astana to inspect the aircraft. This procedure is being carried out in consultation with Boeing and the local and Swiss authorities. Provided there are no objections to this inspection, a new Swiss crew will transfer the aircraft to Zurich as soon as possible. The crew is already on its way to Astana.”
The incident had knock-on effects for Swiss’s international network. The carrier cancelled flights to and from Los Angeles on 18 August, as no further reserve aircraft was available after the 777 departed for Vienna. Its flight to Bangkok was delayed by “several hours” and a flight to Sao Paulo postponed from Monday to Tuesday.
“Further delays or cancellations will depend on the return of the Boeing 777 from Astana and its operational capability,” the company adds. “Swiss is continuing to focus all available resources on minimising the impact on flight operations and thus on its passengers.”
