Flights have resumed at Belfast City Airport after the runway was shut yesterday following a “hard landing” by an Aer Lingus aircraft. The plane, operated by Emerald Airlines, had no passengers on board but had four crew members. The airport has warned that there could be some disruption, with a number of flights cancelled this morning. Routes to Birmingham, Leeds Bradford and London City airports are among those affected.
Pictures from the scene suggest that the plane’s nose wheel collapsed during landing, although no one was injured in the incident. The Air Accident Investigation Branch has sent a team of inspectors to the site.
The closure of Holyhead port, on top of the ferry cancellations and problems at Belfast City Airport, means that it is going to be an even more difficult time for people travelling home for Christmas. Ferries between Northern Ireland and Scotland between Larne and Cairnyran, and Belfast and Cairnyran were cancelled yesterday. In addition, as travel journalist Simon Calder said, “we saw almost all the ferries yesterday on those routes cancelled.” Calder said that people could well end up “stuck on the wrong side of the sea, simply because there is not transport available.”
Hilary Bratton was among those passengers whose flights were diverted to Belfast International Airport because of the emergency. Speaking on BBC’s Good Morning Ulster programme, she said that they circled Belfast City Airport for some time before the captain announced that there was a problem and that they would have to divert to the International Airport.
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