Garuda flight makes forced landing at BIA

A Garuda Indonesian flight, carrying 375 passengers including Hajj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia to Indonesia, had made a forced landing at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) Katunayake on Tuesday night due to a technical error, Airport officials said.

The Duty Manager of the BIA said the aircraft suffered technical problems and was forced to land in Sri Lanka and was currently being repaired.

Meanwhile, Indonesian media reports quoted a Garuda airways official as saying a replacement plane to pick up the pilgrims at BIA had already been sent. (Darshana Sanjeewa)