Mumbai airport's main runway still shut; may reopen by evening

Mumbai, Sep 3 (PTI) The main runway of the international
airport here remained shut for the second day on Saturday as
incessant rains hampered the towing away of the Turkish
Airline plane stuck in mud near the taxiway.
Officials hoped that the main runway would become
functional by 5 pm.
"Continuous rain in the airport area has made the ground
near the main runway more slushy, preventing movement of
equipment for towing away the stranded plane," Mumbai
International Airport Ltd (MIAL) spokesperson told PTI.
The aircraft from Istanbul, with 104 passengers and crew
on board, skidded off the taxiway in the wee hours on Friday.
The landing gear of the Airbus 340-300 got stuck in the mud
near the runway, disrupting flight operations.
The arrival and departure of flights from the second
runway was getting delayed by around 30 minutes.
Earlier, the airport authorities had said the main runway
would be reopened for flights by noon.