PESHAWAR, May 18: Flight operation was suspended at Bacha Khan International Airport on Saturday after a patch developed at the northern edge of the runway during take-off of a passenger plane, officials said.

They said that all departing flights had been delayed while a flight coming from United Arab Emirates was diverted to Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore. Three departing flights, including one for Muscat, had been delayed due to closure of the runway.

An official of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) told Dawn that the fault developed at the “17 End” of the runway when a Karachi-bound plane of Airblue, a private company, was taking off. “It happened due to engine thrust of the plane,” he said.

He said that repair work would take time and runway would remain closed till further orders.

The CAA officials said that material was being brought to Peshawar to start repair work at the runway.

They said that all departing flights both domestic and international had been delayed till 9:00pm Saturday. Pakistan Air Force also uses the runway of Bacha Khan International Airport besides the CAA.

The runway was expanded about 10 years ago and a leading airliner of the UAE had provided financial assistance for this purpose.