Azur Air, formerly Katekavia is a charter airline and former regional airline in Russia. The airline takes Russian tourists from Moscow to Phuket, Thailand among other popular Russian holiday destinations.
Sanctions against Russia due to the illegal invasion of Ukraine put airline safety in Russia in question. Spare parts by Boeing, and Airbus may not always be readily available. This is strongly denied by Russian officials.
Yesterday in Phuket, Thailand more than 300 Russian tourists had a scare onboard Azur Air Boeing 767-300ER as it was taking off from Phuket, Thailand to Moscow, Russia. An engine blew up during take-off and was on fire.
Phuket is now a major international airport in the Kingdom of Thailand after numerous expansions since 2008.
The captain was able to board takeoff and the passengers were evacuated. No injuries or fatalities were reported.
According to Azur Air passengers were put in nearby hotels and received food vouchers.
Due to this situation, all flights in Phuket have been canceled at Phuket International airport from Saturday 4:30 pm to Sunday morning.
Azur Flight ZF 3604 aborted take-off due to the right engine failure, then a tire exploded. There were 309 passengers and 12 crew members on board.
Also, the Boeing 767’s landing gear exploded while accelerating on the runway of Airport
