Air India plane skids and damages runway after 'three tyres burst'

An Air India Airbus A320 arriving from Kochi veered off the runway while landing at Mumbai International Airport on Monday during heavy rainfall, causing damage to the underside of one of its engines and prompting a temporary closure of the airport's main runway.

All passengers and crew aboard flight AI2744 safely disembarked after the incident. The airline has not confirmed whether there were any injuries.

In a statement, Mumbai airport authorities described the incident as a "runway excursion" and said there were "minor damages reported to the airport's primary runway." A secondary runway was activated to maintain flight operations, the statement added.

Air India confirmed the aircraft has been grounded pending technical checks. According to The Times of India, which cited unnamed sources, three of the aircraft’s tyres burst upon landing. Television footage broadcast by NDTV and India Today appeared to show visible damage to the engine’s exterior, including cracks on the casing.

This latest incident comes as Air India faces increased scrutiny over safety standards. The airline is still under the spotlight following a deadly crash involving a Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Ahmedabad last month, which claimed 260 lives.

Separately, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) announced plans to investigate Air India Express, the airline’s low-cost subsidiary. This follows a Reuters report alleging that the carrier failed to timely implement a directive to replace specific Airbus A320 engine components and allegedly falsified records to indicate compliance.