Kuwait Airways flight suspended at Thiruvananthapuram airport due to technical problems and returning to Kuwait

image file to represent | Photo credit: kuwaitairways.com

A Kuwait Airways flight that was grounded at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport on Thursday (October 15, 2026) after it was suspected to have struck a bird returned to Kuwait on Friday.

According to airport sources, the plane reported technical problems after it was suspected to have struck a bird and remained grounded at the airport shortly after landing.

The plane was scheduled to fly back to Kuwait with passengers from Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday morning. However, the airline authorities canceled the return journey and arranged another wide-body aircraft to carry passengers booked on Thursday and Friday. A replacement plane left for Kuwait at 7:30 a.m. on Friday with passengers on both routes.

Meanwhile, airport authorities said the plane was in “Aircraft on Ground” (AOG) status since it landed on Thursday morning as it could not fly back due to technical problems. The plane was later flown back to Kuwait with no passengers on board around 10:30 a.m. Friday, authorities said.

Published – 16 Oct 2026 11:12 IST