Three flights diverted, one delayed due to fire near Surat airport runway; blaze doused

Surat, May 29 (PTI) At least three domestic flights and a helicopter were diverted while one could not take off on time because of a fire in the dry grass near the runway of Surat International Airport on Thursday afternoon, officials said.

The flight operations remained affected for nearly one-and-a-half hours after sparks from a gas gun, used by the airport staff to keep birds at bay, led to the grass near the runway catching fire, said Airport Director AN Sharma.

"The incident took place at around 1:30pm when grass near the runway caught fire due to sparks from our gas gun. Due to gusting winds, the fire spread quickly. Along with five of our fire tenders, two fire fighting vehicles of Surat civic body were also pressed into service to douse the fire," he said.

"The fire came under control in one-and-half hours. Due to the fire, two flights were diverted to Ahmedabad and one was diverted to Vadodara airport. A helicopter with no passengers was also asked to land at another location. A Delhi-bound flight, which was scheduled to depart from Surat airport, got delayed as well," Sharma said. PTI COR PJT PD BNM