Hong Kong Airlines flight to Bali returns for emergency landing following mid-air technical issue within hour of departure
- Ambulances and fire engines on ‘full emergency’ standby as flight with 280 passengers lands safely on a runway meant for departure
- South runway closed until 2.40pm and airline arranged another flight for affected passengers
A Hong Kong Airlines flight carrying about 280 passengers to Indonesia returned to the city on Sunday to make an emergency landing after experiencing a mid-air technical glitch.
Flight HX707 was flying to Denpasar, the capital of Bali province, after departing from Hong Kong International Airport at 12.05pm.
The Airport Authority said it received a report at 12.36pm that the flight wanted to return and requested a “standby”. It made the emergency landing at 12.57pm on the south runway, which is usually used for departures.
Ambulances and fire engines were rushed to the runway for a “full emergency” standby. There was no report of any injury and coaches took the passengers back to the terminal.
The south runway was closed until 2.40pm.
In a statement, Hong Kong Airlines said the flight “experienced a technical issue after take-off and was unable to continue its journey”.