Cypriot airport closes after German jet stalls on runway

[White Cap]

Source: Xinhua english.peopledaily.com.cn

UPDATED: 09:04, June 30, 2006

Cypriot airport closes after German jet stalls on runway

Paphos International Airport on the western coast of Cyprus was closed on Thursday after a German jet came to a halt on the runway due to a technical glitch, semi- official Cyprus News Agency (CNA) reported.

An Airbus 321 of German LTU, coming from Dusseldorf, had to stop on the runway as it was landing at 6:30 p.m. (1530 GMT) when all four of its rear tires burst, according to the report.

The airport civil aviation services manager, Androula Christodoulou, was quoted as saying that all 187 passengers aboard and the plane's crew disembarked safely.

The problem forced the authorities to shut down the airport, affecting a total of five flights scheduled for Thursday night, she added.

Christodoulou also noted that the airport authorities had issued a notam, awaiting technicians from Germany to repair the plane.

"We cannot fix the plane and we are waiting for spare parts and technicians from Germany," Christodoulou said, adding that she cannot speculate the time required to reopen the airport because of the problem's "technical nature."