Belfast Airport Runway Shut After Landing Emergency

Belfast City Airport’s runway remains inaccessible to all flights following an emergency situation involving an Aer Lingus aircraft during its landing amidst strong winds. The aircraft’s nose wheel reportedly collapsed upon touchdown around 16:00 GMT, with images showing its nose resting directly on the runway surface. The flight originated in Edinburgh and was bound for Belfast, carrying four crew members but no passengers. Emergency services evaluated the crew at the scene as a precautionary measure; however, no injuries were reported. Nearly 40 flights scheduled to arrive at or depart from Belfast City Airport experienced disruptions due to the incident. Some of these flights were canceled, while others were rerouted to alternative airports. The runway is not anticipated to reopen until Monday. The emergency occurred on what was described as a “positioning flight,” operated by Emerald Airlines on behalf of Aer Lingus. Emerald Airlines stated that the aircraft “experienced a hard landing upon arriving into Belfast City Airport due to adverse weather conditions.” Strong winds had been predicted for Northern Ireland on Sunday, and the Met Office had issued warnings about potential disruptions to road, rail, air, and ferry transportation. Upon the plane’s landing, police, fire service, and ambulance personnel were immediately dispatched to the airport. Fire Service Area Commander David Doherty reported that firefighters responded at 16:15 GMT after the airport “declared a full emergency.” Multiple units were deployed as part of their standard response to an airport emergency, but Mr. Doherty noted that firefighters were not required to take any immediate action. Although their resources were quickly reallocated, some crews stayed at the site as a precaution, he added. Belfast City Airport advised passengers against traveling to the airport on Sunday evening, informing them that the runway would “remain closed for the rest of the day.” It recommended that affected passengers contact their respective airlines. When BBC News NI inquired with the airport’s spokesperson about guidance for passengers scheduled to travel to or from Belfast City Airport on Monday morning, they provided a brief statement: “All further updates and advice for passengers will be shared on our website and social media.” Earlier, at least four aircraft, including flights from London City and Leeds Bradford, were diverted to Belfast International Airport. Belfast International Airport announced on social media just before 18:30 that it was “close to capacity” due to these diversions and its already busier-than-usual schedule. It cautioned that it was “limited in how many redirected flights we can take this evening.” An additional five flights were diverted to Dublin Airport. The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) is also assisting Belfast City Airport with the process of relocating the damaged aircraft, according to Graeme McQueen, the DAA’s media relations manager. He informed BBC News NI that “members of Dublin Airport’s airfield operations team are currently travelling to Belfast with aircraft recovery equipment.” He further added, “We are happy to help our neighbouring airport.” The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) confirmed it had received notification of the emergency incident in Belfast. A spokesperson for the AAIB stated: “An investigation has been launched and a team of inspectors is being deployed to the site.”