One of Oman Air’s Boeing 737s, which was damaged when it impacted Foreign Object Debris (FOD) upon landing in Iran, has since left the airport and resumed services.
The Boeing 737-900ER, registered as A40-BI, was operating flight WY2436 when it impacted FOD upon landing at Shiraz International Airport (SYZ), Iran, on May 15, 2023, according to the airline’s statement.
“Due to aircraft damage caused by debris on the runway while landing at Shiraz International Airport, flight WY2435 […] has been grounded,” Oman Air said in a statement on Twitter. “Our engineering team is undertaking the necessary measures to safely bring the aircraft back to Muscat, however, due to paramount safety considerations, it is presently kept grounded and as a consequence, flight WY2436 returning to Muscat has been delayed,” the airline added.
The aircraft left SYZ for Muscat International Airport (MCT), Oman, on May 16, 2023, per flightradar24.com data, flying between MCT and Kuwait International Airport (KWT) the following day on flight WY645.
While the Boeing 737 was grounded in Iran, Oman Air sent another Boeing 737, registered as A40-BL, to fly passengers out of SYZ.
Oman Air’s statement concluded: “Whilst the incident was outside the control of Oman Air, we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused. Our priority at all times remains the utmost safety of our valued guests and crew.”
In December 2018, a Norwegian Air Shuttle Boeing 737 MAX became stuck in Iran having been forced to make an emergency landing in SYZ, on its flight from Dubai International Airport (DXB) to Oslo Gardermoen Airport (OSL). The aircraft sat on the ground at the Iranian airport for some time due to a lack of spare parts, as sanctions imposed by the United States (US) prevented the airline from sending the parts to Iran as well.
As luck would have it, the US Government shut down between December and January 2019, preventing Norwegian from acquiring an export license for a CFM International LEAP-1B engine to replace the then-damaged 737 MAX engine.
The Norwegian Boeing 737 MAX finally left SYZ and departed toward OSL on February 22, 2019.