New Delhi: In a major security lapse, an Air India aircraft with more than 136 people onboard landed on a wrong runway at the Male airport in Maldives on Friday, according to an airline official.

The A320 neo plane was operating from Thiruvananthapuram to Male.

Confirming the incident, a senior Air India official said the aircraft "VT EXL landed on an under-construction runway at Male". There were 136 passengers and crew on board. Tyres of the plane were deflated and it was towed away to the parking bay, the official said.

“It could be because the pilots applied brakes on realising that they landed on a wrong runway. The local authorities are conducting a probe,” he added.

Reacting to the incident, the DGCA said the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) had been informed and both the pilots had been off-rostered. Off rostering refers to pilots being taken off their flying duties.

This is the second such incident in a little over a month involving an Indian airline. In August, a Jet Airways flight tried to take off from the Riyadh airport in Saudi Arabia when it was not even on the runway. The two pilots allegedly attempted take-off from a taxiway instead of the runway, endangering nearly 150 people on board.