Airbus A320 skids off St Petersburg runway in emergency landing

An Airbus A320 plane skidded off the runway of Saint Petersburg's main airport early Monday while making an emergency landing due to a landing gear malfunction, Russian state media said.

All 162 passengers and crew aboard the flight, bound for Azerbaijan's capital Baku, were uninjured, according to state news agency RIA.

Pulkovo Airport, one of Russia's busiest, briefly suspended flights due to the incident, before resuming operations on Monday morning.


RIA did not specify which airline was operating the flight.

Aviation safety has been in the spotlight in recent years with intense competition between French Airbus and US competitor Boeing.

The Airbus A320 recently became the best-selling commercial aircraft, according to figures released last week.

Russia has taken steps to switch from Soviet aircraft to modern jets such as the A320 and 737 in recent years due to accidents involving ageing planes.