AN AirAsia X flight from Coolangatta in Australia’s Gold Coast had to make a diversion after a suspected bird strike to its starboard engine soon after take-off.

The KL-bound flight D7207 with 345 passengers and 14 crew members had taken off at 10.20pm.

The diverted plane landed safely at Brisbane airport at 11.33pm

All passengers and crew were reported to be safe.

Two bird remains were found on the runway, the budget carrier added in a statement. 

AirAsia X CEO Benyamin Ismail said: “We are following all regulatory guidelines to ensure the safety and well-being of our guests who are currently being attended to by our ground staff.

“We would like to commend our pilot and crew members for their professionalism and swift action to reassure passengers who were on board.”

He also said AirAsia X will arrange for a special flight to transport all passengers on Flight D7207 to Kuala Lumpur as soon as possible.

On June 26, AirAsia X Flight D7237 was forced to return to Perth 90 minutes into its journey to Kuala Lumpur after an engine failure.

The flight took off from Perth at 6.50am local time with 359 passengers on board but turned back due to engine issues and landed safely at 10am local time.

Passengers reported that one of the Airbus A330’s engines was shaking violently and the crew’s reaction indicated the severity of the situation.

The airline is investigating the incident. – July 4, 2017.