A Turkish Airlines Airbus A330 was evacuated at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport on Monday after a fire broke out in its right rear tyre during taxiing, forcing the airport to close for an hour. All 277 passengers and 11 crew were evacuated via emergency slides; nobody was injured.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said smoke was first observed coming from the landing gear after the aircraft touched down. A fire then broke out in the right rear tyre and was doused before the plane was towed off the active runway. CAAN information officer Gyanendra Bhul confirmed that emergency doors were opened and passengers exited using the slides, with fire engines later bringing the situation fully under control.
Turkish Airlines senior vice president for communications Yahya Ustun said on X that technical inspections had been initiated by the airline’s teams. “Initial assessments indicate that the smoke was caused by a technical malfunction in a hydraulic pipe,” he said, adding that an additional flight has been arranged to ferry passengers to their destination.
The incident temporarily shut down Nepal’s main international gateway, which serves as a major transit hub for South Asian migrant workers travelling to and from Gulf job sites — including a substantial number of Sri Lankan citizens. Turkish Airlines operates one of the busiest Istanbul–Colombo routes and is among the carriers most used by Sri Lankan travellers to Europe and North America via Istanbul.
Authorities have not yet announced findings on whether the hydraulic-pipe malfunction was linked to recent maintenance or in-flight wear. Investigations by both Turkish Airlines and CAAN are continuing.
