Plane survives bird strike, lands safely at Lahore airport

• A foreign airline’s passenger plane Tuesday narrowly escaped an accident after getting hit by bird near Lahore airport. 
• Passengers shifted to airport's departure lounge, flight postponed for indefinite period.
• Instead of providing accommodation to passengers at the hotel, the airline suggests passengers leave for their homes.

LAHORE: A foreign airline’s passenger plane Tuesday narrowly escaped an accident after it was hit by a bird near the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore.

With around 350 passengers on board, the Istanbul-bound plane was hit by a bird as soon as it took off from the airport. The pilot, however, managed to turn the plane around and landed it safely at the airport.

The airline accepted the passengers' request and made arrangements for their stay in a hotel. It also promised passengers to arrange another flight to Istanbul and refunded them the money for their PCR tests. 

Earlier, after the flight had been cancelled, the airline had recommended passengers leave for their homes.

Fearing a protest by passengers, authorities had called for additional contingents of the Airport Security Force (ASF) to control the situation.