Istanbul Airport Closed After Pegasus Flight Skids Off Runway

A Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737-800 skidded off the runway at Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (SAW) in Istanbul, Turkey, forcing the second airport of the largest Turkish city to close.

The aircraft, registered TC-CCK, was carrying out flight PC747 from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, to Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport, with 164 passengers on board on January 7th 2020.

Upon landing at its destination, the plane skidded off the runway and ended its course in the grass alongside the runway. It was met with emergency vehicles and occupants were evacuated using emergency slides.

“There are no casualties or injuries. The necessary investigation has been initiated.”

Pegasus Airlines

INCIDENT: Pegasus #PC747 Sharjah to Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport (Boeing 737-800 TC-CCK) suffered a runway excursion on landing at SAW this morning at ~0910FET (0610UTC). No injuries reported. The airport is closed until the aircraft is removed. https://t.co/A8QZHFck07 pic.twitter.com/28PyV0Ic5a

— Airport Webcams (@AirportWebcams) January 7, 2020

Flights at Sabiha Gokcen Airport have been temporarily suspended. Istanbul has been plagued by heavy rain for the past two days, which has affected transport in the city.

A statement from the general manager of Turkish Airlines, Bilal Eksi, said that Turkish Airlines flights to and from Sabiha Gokcen airport would be cancelled until 15:00 local time (12:00 GMT).

Sabiha Gökçen Havalimanında pistin kapanmasına yol açan olay sebebi ile saat 15'e kadar Sabiha Gökçen inişli ve kalkışlı seferlerimiz iptal edilmek zorunda kalınmıştır.

Çağrı merkezimizden alternatif sefer planlamalarımız ile ilgili bilgi alabilirsiniz.

— Bilal EKŞİ (@BilalEksiTHY) January 7, 2020

Due to the disruptions to flights to and from Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport on 7th January 2020, we will be operating additional flights for our guests on 7th and 8th January 2020. Guests who have been affected by the flight changes on 7th January 2020 can change or cancel their pic.twitter.com/Dr0dRXJEZE

— Pegasus Airlines (@flymepegasus) January 7, 2020

Pegasus Airlines is a low-cost Turkish airline based in Istanbul. They operate a fleet of 83 aircraft, including 46 Boeing 737-800s, 1 Boeing 737-400s, 24 Airbus A320-200s and 12 A320-200neos.