Dubai: An Etihad Airways flight travelling from Karachi to Abu Dhabi returned safely to its departure airport just after taking off on Friday after the airline found a technical issue causing the crew to take safe steps.
Flight EY299, which left Jinnah International Airport (KHI) heading to Zayed International Airport (AUH), landed safely back in Karachi after the problem was noticed during the part of the trip. Etihad Airways confirmed the event in a statement, saying the plane returned as a precaution and that passenger safety was the airline’s concern.
“Etihad Airways flight EY299 from Karachi Jinnah International Airport (KHI) to Zayed International Airport (AUH) on 31 July returned to Karachi after take-off due to a technical issue “, the airline said.
The airline did not share the details of the technical problem but said its teams were helping passengers with new travel plans. “We are sorry for the trouble this caused, and our teams are working hard to help guests with their travel plans “, the airline said.
The flight was operated by an Airbus A320, which’s part of Etihad’s narrow-body fleet used often on regional and short trips across the Middle East and South Asia. Although such returns are rare, aviation experts say planes are built to return to the starting airport whenever the crew finds issues that need checking, even if there is no immediate danger.
This event happens as Etihad is changing some parts of its network because of ongoing challenges related to higher security in the Gulf. The airline has stopped some flights between Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, and flights EY653 and EY654 between Abu Dhabi and Kuwait are also not running for reasons. No date has been given for when those flights will start
With this latest problem Etihad said the safety and comfort of its passengers and workers are its most important focus with technical teams checking the plane before it goes back into service. Passengers flying on these routes are told to check their flight status on Etihad’s official website or mobile app and make sure their contact details are up to date to get real-time travel updates.
