Indonesia's Lion Air aircraft rams boarding bridge before take-off
No one was injured in the incident at Mopah International Airport in Merauke district, Lion Air spokesman Danang Prihantoro said. "Based on our observation, the winglet came into contact with the airport's jet bridge," Prihantoro said.
- Asia
- DPA
- Published Date: 11:30 | 26 January 2023
- Modified Date: 11:39 | 26 January 2023
An aircraft operated by Indonesia's budget carrier Lion Air rammed a boarding bridge just as it was taxiing before take-off at an airport in Papua province on Thursday, the airline said.
No one was injured in the incident at Mopah International Airport in Merauke district, Lion Air spokesman Danang Prihantoro said.
"Based on our observation, the winglet came into contact with the airport's jet bridge," Prihantoro said.
The plane, which was bound for the provincial capital Jayapura with 129 people on board returned to the apron and the passengers were given the option of transferring to another airplane or receiving a refund, he said.
Indonesia, the world's largest archipelagic nation, has a chequered aviation safety record, with four major crashes in the past decade.
In October 2018, a Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX crashed into the Java Sea, killing all 189 people on board.
The aircraft's faulty new anti-stall system was blamed for the crash, as well as that of another 737 Max in Ethiopia that killed 157 people in March 2019.