AI Express flight faces technical problem, makes emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram;

An Air India Express flight from Tiruchirappalli to Sharjah with 154 passengers faced technical difficulties shortly after take-off on Monday and was diverted to the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport here where it landed safely, Airport sources said.

While the airport authority declared a full emergency at the International Airport, AI Express said it was a precautionary landing.

The flight, IX 613, with 154 passengers and six crew onboard departed from Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu at around 10:45 AM.

The flight landed safely at Thiruvananthapuram at 12:01 PM, an Air India spokesperson said.

The airport authority also informed that the Thiruvananthapuram-Bahrain Air India Express flight, IX 573, with 180 passengers, abandoned takeoff due to technical reasons at 11:06 AM.