Flights delayed as freighter blocks HK runway

At least 82 inbound and outbound flights were delayed last evening after a cargo plane broke down and blocked one of the two runways at Chek Lap Kok airport in Hong Kong, reported the South China Morning Post.

A Kazakh-bound Air Cargo Germany plane was grounded by a mechanical fault just before take-off at 6pm, an Airport Authority spokeswoman said.

She could not say when the runway would be cleared.

She said the second runway was operating normally and could handle about 30 flights an hour.

By 9pm, 51 outbound and 31 inbound flights had been affected.

Some outbound flights were delayed for as long as 70 minutes.

A maintenance team from the Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company worked on the grounded Boeing 747 airliner. Fire engines were also on standby.

The airport spokeswoman said the authority's emergency centre had been activated and would co-ordinate matters relating to the runway closure.

A spokesman for the German cargo carrier said there were technical problems with the aircraft but did not provide further details.
(Source:www.cargonewsasia.com)