Turkish Airlines Flight Makes Safe Emergency Landing at BIA After Technical Fault

December 17, 2025

A Turkish Airlines Airbus A330 operating Flight TK-733 from Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) to Istanbul made a safe emergency landing early on Wednesday after encountering a technical problem shortly after departure.

The flight carried 202 passengers and 10 crew members and left Katunayake around 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Shortly after takeoff, pilots noticed an issue with the aircraft’s landing gear system. Following standard safety procedures, the flight crew chose to return to BIA as a precaution.
To reduce the risk during landing, the crew circled at a low altitude over the Chilaw area to burn off excess fuel before returning to Katunayake. The aircraft landed safely at about 00:28 a.m. local time.

Airport emergency response teams, including fire, medical, and rescue squads, were ready during the landing, and officials confirmed that there were no injuries among passengers or crew. Everyone onboard disembarked safely, and accommodations were arranged for them while the aircraft underwent inspections and necessary repairs.

The incident caused some delays for other scheduled departures, but BIA officials said that normal flight operations resumed shortly after the emergency landing. Turkish Airlines has not provided detailed information about the specific technical issue, but emergency landings like this are taken very seriously. They involve thorough inspections by airline engineers and aviation authorities.