Birmingham Airport runway closed after small aircraft makes emergency landing

Screengrab taken from the FlightRadar 24 website of the flight path of Flight CWYO2G. Picture: FlightRadar 24/PA

Birmingham Airport has temporarily closed its runway with all flights currently grounded after a small aircraft made an emergency landing.

Three people from the aircraft were treated at the scene with one suffering minor injuries from the incident, which occurred at around 1.40pm on Wednesday, West Midlands Police said.

Other emergency services including West Midlands Ambulance Service have also attended the scene.

Footage and images shared on social media appeared to show a small white plane lying flat on the airport tarmac.

At least 11 flights listed on the departures page of the airport’s website to destinations across Europe had been cancelled, while others said delays were expected until around 7pm.

Passengers have been told to check the status of their flight before coming to the airport, with both check-in and security also temporarily shut.

Gunnar Lauridsen, a 76-year-old from Denmark who had been on holiday playing golf, said he would most likely miss his connecting flight because of the closed runway.

He said: “We are ultimately going to Billund in Denmark. This delay probably means we can’t get our connection. So that means that we will be staying probably in Amsterdam overnight.

“I should have been to the doctors tomorrow morning. When you travel things happen.”

Camile Monteleone, a visual merchandiser, was meant to fly home to Barcelona after working in the UK for three days, but did not know if her flight from the airport had been cancelled.

The 30-year-old said: “I don’t have any news. I’m like ‘what is going on’. It does not say anything on the Ryanair app about the flight.

“I’m just waiting for information. I have to let people know I’m here, stuck at the airport. I cannot do anything else.”

Haley, who did not give her surname, said she was told by airline Tui to check-in for her flight to Mallorca as normal but has since been told she cannot go inside the airport.

The 42-year-old said: “It’s taken the shine off a bit. It’s not too bad at the minute. We’re trying to stay positive.

“Tui told us to check-in as normal, but we’ve got here and been told we can’t go inside the building. We’ve just been told they’re moving people to the NEC.”

West Midlands Police said in a post on X: “We are at Birmingham Airport this afternoon after a small aircraft was involved in an emergency landing at around 1.40pm.”

“Officers are among the emergency crews at the scene and one person has been reported to have minor injuries.

“The Civil Aviation Authority has been informed and the airport has suspended operations as an investigation is carried out.”

Birmingham Airport earlier posted on the social media platform: “Following an aircraft incident, the runway is temporarily closed.

“We apologise for the inconvenience this will cause.

“We will keep passengers already at the airport informed and those due to travel later today are advised to check the status of their flight before coming to the airport.

“We will continue to issue updates when we can.”

A response to the incident will be led by the Air Accidents Investigations Branch, a Civil Aviation Authority spokesperson said.

“In the event of delays or cancellations, passengers will be expected to be provided with food and drink as well as accommodation if delayed overnight,” the spokesperson added.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said in a statement: “We were called at 1.45pm to an incident involving a light aircraft at Birmingham Airport.

“Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) paramedics and three paramedic officers were sent to the scene.

“Upon arrival we found three patients from the aircraft, all of whom were assessed and discharged at the scene.”

Consumer group the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) offered stranded passengers a free pint if they showed their boarding pass at the Great British Beer Festival, which was taking place in the nearby National Exhibition Centre.