A private airline that took off from Belagavi airport returned to the city following a technical snag, on August 16. Sambra airport authorities said it was not an emergency landing. All the passengers and crew are safe.

Star Airways flight from Belagavi to Mumbai returned within 40 minutes of taking off.

The Belagavi-Mumbai flight duration is one hour. Within 15 minutes of taking off, the pilots noticed a technical issue and informed the Air Traffic Control tower that they were returning.

‘Star Air flight S5111 had 48 passengers on board. The plane, which took off at 7.50 a.m., was supposed to land in Mumbai at 8.50 a.m. However, due to a technical fault, it landed in Belagavi instead of Mumbai. All passengers are safe,” said S. Thyagarajan, Director of Sambra airport.

“This plane did not make an emergency landing. It landed at the terminal normally. The passengers were shifted to another aircraft,” he said.