Bandung-bound AirAsia flight stalled due to technical glitch - AirAsia Indonesia CEO

AirAsia Indonesia has confirmed that flight QZ7633 en route from Surabaya to Bandung scheduled for departure at 9pm, Saturday has made the decision to return-to-apron (RTA) due to a technical glitch.

AirAsia in a media statement issued to Astro AWANI, said the Airbus A320-200 (PK-AZC) was carrying a total of 161 passengers and experienced an Auxilliary Power Unit (APU) auto shutdown during push back.

The captain returned to the gate as the aircraft had to undergo further check for safety reasons.

Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) is a device located at the tail part of an aircraft that provides energy for electrical Power and Pneumatic systems when the aircraft is on the ground before the main engine starts.

APU has a protection system which automatically shuts the APU down when it detects any system malfunctions such as overspeed, low oil pressure, oil filter problems or oil overheating to ensure safe operations.

Sunu Widyatmoko, Chief Executive Officer AirAsia Indonesia said, "the captain has fulfilled the standard operating procedure (SOP) by making the decision to return-to-apron or RTA in order to ensure operational safety."

"Further checks were completed by our engineering team according to their standard operating procedures.

He also added that after the final check was completed, the aircraft was released to fly about an hour later.

Despite the sensationalised coverage, there were no safety issues and the aircraft landed safely in Bandung," Sunu added.