Turkish Airlines A330 tire fire forces emergency evacuation at Kathmandu airport

Quick summary

A Turkish Airlines Airbus A330 arriving from Istanbul caught fire in its right rear tire after landing at Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM) on May 11, 2026, triggering a full emergency evacuation of all 277 passengers and 11 crew. Nobody was injured. The airport closed for one hour while fire services contained the blaze on the apron; the aircraft has been grounded and towed to the taxiway. Turkish Airlines confirmed a hydraulic pipe malfunction as the likely cause.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal has opened a preliminary investigation, with findings expected within 48 hours. Cascading delays of 2–6 hours are affecting inbound and outbound KTM connections, including Thai Airways and Qatar Airways services.

Emergency slides deployed at Kathmandu’s only international airport on Sunday afternoon after a tire fire on a Turkish Airlines wide-body forced one of the most dramatic evacuations seen at Tribhuvan International in years. The A330, operating the Istanbul–Kathmandu route, had just touched down when fire broke out in the right rear landing gear. Crew activated emergency exits immediately.

All 288 people on board — 277 passengers and 11 crew — were off the aircraft before fire services arrived to douse the blaze. No injuries were reported. Gyanendra Bhul, spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), confirmed the safe evacuation and stated the aircraft is now grounded on the apron.

Turkish Airlines senior vice president Yahya Ustun said on social media that smoke was first observed in the landing gear during taxi, and that initial assessments point to a technical malfunction in a hydraulic pipe — not the tire itself as the origin point. Technical inspections are underway. An additional relief flight has been arranged to return affected passengers.

The airport halted all operations for one hour. That single hour has rippled outward: inbound flights including Thai Airways TG324 from Bangkok and Qatar Airways QR652 from Doha were held or diverted, and KTM is now operating at reduced capacity pending apron and runway inspection clearance from CAAN.

What happened on the apron at Kathmandu

The sequence matters here. Fire in a landing gear tire after touchdown is a known risk category — braking energy and hydraulic heat can combine under specific failure conditions — but a full emergency evacuation at a high-altitude airport like KTM, sitting at 4,390 feet with limited emergency infrastructure, raises the stakes considerably. Tribhuvan has one runway. When it closes, everything stops.

CAAN’s preliminary report is expected within 48 hours of the May 11 incident. That report will determine whether the hydraulic pipe failure Ustun referenced was an isolated maintenance issue or something requiring a broader fleet review. Under ICAO Annex 13 protocols, both CAAN and Turkey’s DGCA (SHGM) will participate in the investigation, with flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder analysis forming the core of the technical review.

The grounded aircraft remains at KTM. Until it is cleared or removed, apron capacity at the airport is constrained — a secondary disruption that compounds the primary one.

This is not the first time an A330 has faced a serious incident at Kathmandu. A 2015 runway excursion involving an A330-300 at KTM led to significant CAAN procedural updates, and the airport’s challenging approach — surrounded by terrain, with limited go-around options — means any incident here draws immediate regulatory attention. It also echoes a recent event closer to home: a SWISS A330 evacuation at Delhi after an engine fire injured several passengers during slide deployment, a reminder that the evacuation itself carries risk even when the primary incident causes none.

How passenger rights apply — and where they fall short

The hydraulic pipe failure framing matters for compensation. Turkish Airlines has characterized this as a technical malfunction — which, under EU261/2004, could qualify as an extraordinary circumstance, potentially allowing the airline to deny the €600 per-person compensation that would otherwise apply to a delay exceeding three hours on a flight of this distance. The regulation is clear on the threshold but contested on the cause classification; a hydraulic failure is not weather, but airlines routinely argue technical faults as extraordinary. Passengers departing from Istanbul — an EU-adjacent origin — should file claims regardless and let the process determine eligibility. The filing window is three years.

For travelers outside the EU/UK departure framework — those originating in the US, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand — EU261 does not apply. Turkish DGCA rules entitle affected passengers to a full refund or rebooking under SHGM-OPS regulations, which is the operative protection here for most KTM-bound travelers.

Premium credit cards add a practical layer. Amex Platinum trip delay coverage kicks in at six hours and reimburses up to $500 per person for meals and accommodation — activate it with an incident report and receipts. Chase Sapphire Reserve covers cancellation up to $10,000 per person if airline fault is established; file within 14 days via the app. Capital One Venture X offers $500 per trip after a six-hour delay threshold.

Steps to take right now if KTM is in your itinerary

KTM is operating at reduced capacity with active apron inspections underway — anyone with a booking through May 12 needs to act before schedules shift further.

• If you were on the evacuated flight: Contact Turkish Airlines directly at +90 850 333 0849 or via turkishairlines.com/manage-booking for rebooking or a full refund within 24 hours. Collect checked baggage at KTM lost-and-found once security clearance is confirmed. Keep all receipts for hotel and meals — card delay benefits require documentation.
• If you have an upcoming TK booking into KTM in the next 24 hours: Check live status at caanepal.gov.np/flight-schedule and the Turkish Airlines live tracker before heading to the airport. Alternatives via Delhi on IndiGo or via Bangkok on Thai Airways are operating normally; Qatar Airways via Doha is another viable reroute.
• If you are transiting through KTM: Reroute options include Bhairahawa (BWA) for domestic Nepal connections, or speak directly with Nepal Airlines counters at KTM for onward arrangements. Do not assume your connection is protected — KTM’s reduced capacity means ground handling is stretched.
• If you departed from an EU or UK airport: File an EU261 or UK261 delay claim at turkishairlines.com/eu261 if your arrival delay exceeds three hours. The airline may contest it as extraordinary circumstance — file anyway. The three-year window means there is no urgency, but document everything now while the incident is fresh.

Watch: The CAAN preliminary report, expected May 13, will be the first official determination of cause. If it points to a systemic maintenance issue rather than an isolated hydraulic fault, the regulatory response could extend disruption well beyond this week.

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