Investigations underway after passenger airbridge gives way

TWO investigations were underway last night after a partial collapse of Cork Airport’s only passenger airbridge just seconds before people were due to use it.

The incident occurred at around 12.30pm when the floor section of the bridge which connects to an aircraft gave way during a docking operation. Luckily, no one was injured.

The bridge was being inched forward by a member of Aer Lingus ground staff to connect with an Aer Lingus aircraft which had shut down its engines and parked at its stand.

The doors of flight EI833 which had arrived from Prague were closed as passengers waited inside to disembark via the bridge.

But as it moved to within inches of the aircraft, the extendable floor section collapsed and struck the aircraft door, causing extensive damage.

Passengers disembarked down a stairs through the rear door.

The incident forced the aircraft, which was due to fly to Bermingham an hour later, out of service causing knock-on disruption to later flights.

Both Aer Lingus and the Cork Airport Authority launched separate investigations into the incident.

A CAA spokesman said the airbridge would remain out of service for the foreseeable future until the cause of the fault was established.

The €500,000 bridge was one of the last big pieces to be installed as part of the CAA’s new €250 million terminal which opened in 2006. The bridge has been operational since September 2006 and its service record was faultless until yesterday.

Aer Lingus was also carrying out its own internal investigation into what an airline spokesperson described as a “very rare” incident.

“Aer Lingus engineers will examine the aircraft before deciding whether or not it can re-enter service,” she said.

“A detailed report is written up for every incident and damage to any aircraft is the subject of an internal investigation.”

She could not put a value on the damage until all reports have been concluded.

The incident forced the cancellation of Aer Lingus’s Cork to Bermingham flight yesterday.

Those passengers were accommodated on a flight to Manchester and ferried on to Bermingham by bus.

Passengers in Manchester waiting for the return flight were rerouted to Dublin and then bused to Cork.

Another aircraft was relocated from Dublin to Cork ensure the 5pm Cork to Malaga flight took off as panned.

Meanwhile, hundreds of passengers were evacuated from the terminal building just after 4pm when an alarm activated. They were allowed back inside after it was confirmed it was a false alarm.

Passengers were mixed in their views of the way the airport handled the emergency.

One passenger said: “The evacuation and alarm system worked extremely well. One criticism I would have is that they gathered the people in front of the doors and if there had been an explosive device it would have been extremely dangerous.”

Another, however said there was pandemonium at the airport.

“They actually put us onto the runway,” he said. “When we were brought in again there were no reasons given.”