A Sharjah-bound flight of Air Arabia had to return to Chattogram Shah Amanat International Airport two hours after take-off last night due to a technical glitch, said airport officials. The flight was yet to leave the port city nearly 22 hours after it had originally taken off, our local staff correspondent reports.

Group Captain Taslim Ahmad, director of Shah Amanat International Airport, told The Daily Star today that a technical team of Air Arabia was working on the issue, and hoped that the flight would leave after 6:00pm. Og the 149 passengers on board, around 90 are staying in hotels, some have changed their tickets while others returned home, he said around noon today.

The flight landed safely around 9:35pm yesterday after it took off from the airport at 7:24pm, the director told The Daily Star yesterday. “The captain noticed the electrical problem after take-off and he turned the aircraft around from the Kolkata air border to Chattogram. “It was an emergency landing, and after the landing, we towed the aircraft from the runway,” he said, adding that measures were taken for the passengers’ overnight accommodation and food.