An Emirates flight that left here for Dubai with 205 passengers at 4.20 a.m. on Tuesday retuned after an hour following a snag. The aircraft has been grounded.
Airport officials said the pilot of flight EK 533 reported to the air traffic control a failure of the hydraulic systems that controlled the landing gear. The airport authorities were alerted and the aircraft touched down at 5.20 a.m. Security and rescue officials had taken positions to face any emergency.
The passengers exited through the main door onto the tarmac and were accommodated in nearby hotels. The airline said 75 passengers were flown on EK 531 which departed at 10.30 a.m. The rest would take the next available flight.
The airport officials denied reports of the plane making a full-course emergency landing that triggered panic among passengers.
“The pilot did not declare any emergency before landing, though the landing was made on a standby emergency mode in the presence of the Fire and Rescue Services personnel,” a senior official said.
An airline statement said the engineers were trying to determine the source of the scare.
