No one injured as plane skids off runway

A key landing strip at Waterford Regional Airport was forced to close for a period last night after a plane travelling to Britain skidded on the runway during take-off.

The incident, which involved a commercial aircraft travelling to Birmingham, occurred at 4pm.

An airport spokesperson said that as the plane was taxiing for take-off, one of its wheels came into contact with the grassy area beside the runway.

No one was injured.

As a result of the scare, the pilot chose not to proceed with take-off.

This step was taken “as a precautionary measure” to ensure there were no safety issues in relation to the aircraft which could have caused further difficulties during the flight.

Due to the incident, passengers travelling back to Britain suffered a four-hour delay in their journey, while scheduled take-offs and landings also suffered difficulties.

An Aer Lingus flight from Luton had to be diverted to Cork yesterday evening, causing disruption to passengers as they continued on their journeys.