Murat Paksoy, Zafer Arslan, Izzet Taskiran and Kenan Irtak
07 January 2020•Update: 07 January 2020
ISTANBUL
Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen Airport suspended flight operations until 8:00 p.m. local time (1700GMT) on Tuesday after a passenger plane skidded off a runway, with no one hurt.
The incident happened at 9.43 a.m. local time (0643GMT) when a Pegasus Airline plane coming from the UAE’s Sharjah International Airport skidded due to bad weather, according to the Istanbul Governor’s Office.
All 164 passengers on the plane were evacuated safely and there were no injuries, it added.
Earlier in the morning, Bilal Eksi, Turkish Airlines' CEO, said on Twitter that Turkey’s national flag carrier had to suspend flights in and out of the Sabiha Gokcen Airport until 3.00 p.m. local time (1200GMT) due to the runaway closure.
Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines redirected five Sabiha Gokcen-bound flights to Istanbul Airport and one to Ankara.
Separately, IGA, which operates the new mega-Istanbul Airport, said in a statement that flights at the facility continue as planned.
* Writing by Gozde Bayar
