Pictures show sparks coming from the undercarriage of the Aer Lingus Regional ATR aircraft as it skidded down the runway at around 4pm on Sunday.
The airplane slammed nose first on to the tarmac as the nose gear collapsed prompting emergency services to rush to the scene of the ongoing incident which has resulted in the runway being closed for the rest of the day.
Aer Lingus. KLM, British Airways and easyJet flights due to depart George Best Airport have been cancelled, impacting passengers trying to get to numerous cities including Amsterdam, London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool.
The moment the plane crash landed at Belfast City Airport Pic Michail Savekin
Some flights due to arrive at the location have been diverted to Belfast International Airport which has warned it is operating “close to capacity”.
Five flights have also been diverted to Dublin Airport after the plane got into trouble touching down at George Best Airport with four crew members onboard.
A special team with aircraft recovery equipment is currently on its way from Dublin to Belfast after the hard landing during strong gusts of wind as the flight arrived from Edinburgh.
Images from the scene also show the turboprop plane on the side of a runway with two fire appliances positioned nearby.
Belfast City Airport’s runway will be closed for the rest of Sunday. (Pic: Andrew McCarroll/ Pacemaker Press)
Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) said it attended the scene at 4.15pm when it despatched four appliances and a specialist rescue team in addition to a command support unit and three supervisory officers.
“On attending crews encountered an aircraft which had experienced a nose wheel collapse on landing,” a spokesperson confirmed.
“At 4:34pm NIFRS scaled back our response.
“We had 24 personnel in total in attendance and assisted Belfast City Airport Fire Service to make the scene safe.
“We currently have one appliance and three officers on scene, all other appliances have been stood down.”
Sarah O’Connell was on an Emerald Air flight from Southampton to visit her daughter who has been living in NI when the pilot announced “there had been an incident at Belfast City and that we were being diverted to Belfast International”.
“Then a couple of minutes later he came back to say that Belfast International was at capacity so we would land in Dublin,” she recalled.
Despite the inconvenience, the excited mother said everything “has gone very smoothly”.
“Coaches were outside and the roads have been clear,” Ms O’Connell added.
“We are looking forward to seeing our daughter who has been working in Belfast for the last 18 months.”
The moment the plane crash landed at Belfast City Airport Pic Michail Savekin
Graeme McQueen, Media Relations Manager at daa, the operator of Dublin Airport said it was “happy to accommodate five diverted aircraft from Belfast City Airport this evening”.
“Members of Dublin Airport’s airfield operations team are currently travelling to Belfast with aircraft recovery equipment,” he added.
“We are happy to help our neighbouring airport.”
A number of flights were diverted to Belfast International Airport as a result of the incident, including a British Airways flight from London City and an Aer Lingus flight from Leeds Bradford.
But the travel hub at Aldergrove has warned it has limited capacity during what is a busy time of the year.
A Belfast International Airport spokesperson confirmed it has taken in four diverted flights so far.
“As we have a heavier schedule than usual we are now, with these additional flights, close to capacity so we are limited in how many more redirected flights we can take this evening but we will continue to support where possible,” they said.
“Our website will carry the most up to date information for arrivals and departures and passengers should contact their airline directly.
“Given the circumstances, our teams on the ground are working to help these additional flights as quickly as possible.
“We would ask for passengers patience as we support each additional flight.”
Incident involving plane at Belfast City Airport the 22nd December 2024 (Photo by Luke Jervis / Belfast Telegraph)
The situation could result in significant delays for passengers bound for Belfast City Airport.
A spokesperson there said no passengers were on the aircraft involved in the incident.
“At around 4pm today, Sunday 22 December, an Aer Lingus regional flight, operated by Emerald Airlines, had an incident on landing at Belfast City Airport,” they said.
“This was a positioning flight with no passengers but four crew members onboard.
“The airport’s emergency procedures were enacted.
“The runway is currently closed and will be for the rest of the day.
“Passengers are asked to contact their airline.”
A spokesperson from Emerald Airlines said the “positioning flight, EA701P, with no passengers on board, flying from Edinburgh to Belfast City Airport, 22nd December 2024, experienced a hard landing upon arriving into Belfast City Airport due to adverse weather conditions.”
Millions of travellers in the UK have faced disruption during the busiest weekend of the year as 82mph winds wreaked havoc on transport services.
The Met Office yellow warning for wind came into force at 7am on Saturday to remain in place until 9pm on Sunday.
London Heathrow called off flights while P&O Ferries axed journeys between Larne and Cairnryan until at least 8pm on Sunday.
Loganair flights from Glasgow Airport to the Hebridean islands and CalMac ferry routes have also been affected.
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