Oman Air flight delayed at Lahore airport due to technical fault

Muscat: An Oman Air flight has been delayed by more than eight hours at Lahore airport due to a technical fault in its navigation system.
According to TV reports, Oman Air flight WY 342, scheduled to take off at 10am on Thursday, was still grounded at 5pm, leaving nearly 270 passengers onboard in a seven-hour delay. Passengers took to social media to report that food and water on board had also run out.
Dunya TV in Pakistan quoted the airport authorities as saying that the flight did take off at 10.30am but its control panel started flashing a red signal which meant its navigation system was not functioning properly. Since the system failed to show the direction the plane had to travel in, the pilot grounded the flight within minutes of takeoff.
The plane took off again after 15 minutes but returned again due to the same technical fault. A third attempt an hour later met with the same fate and the Oman Air plane is currently grounded at Lahore airport with all its passengers on board.
The passengers looked extremely upset as the flight crew ran out of food and water supplies, the report added.
According to the airport authorities, the flight will not be able to take off until its control panel fault is repaired.
Oman Air officials are reportedly liaising with crews on the ground at Lahore Airport in an effort to resolve the passengers’ plight. Nobody from the airline was available for comment.