KATHMANDU: A Nepal Airlines Corporation aircraft flying to Hong Kong made a forced landing at the Tribhuvan International Airport on Saturday after 55 minutes of takeoff.

There were 121 passengers on board the Airbus 320, according to Nepal Airlines Corporation's Spokesperson Ram Hari Sharma.

The aircraft, which had taken off from the TIA at 11:20 am,  returned to Kathmandu after a strong, bad odour was noticed on board, Sharma informed.

As the TIA's international runway was blocked for half an hour to let the Airbus make a forced landing, some international flights were delayed for some time.

Now, the NAC's engineers are inspecting the aircraft, according to Sharma.