Birmingham Airport flights grounded until 8pm after emergency landing

Passengers waiting outside departures at Birmingham Airport after it has been announced that flights at the airport will remain grounded until at least 8pm. Picture: Sophie Robinson/PA

Flights at Birmingham Airport will remain grounded until at least 8pm 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 police, fire and ambulance all attended the scene at the airport’s runway.

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

The aircraft currently remains on the runway.

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.

Birmingham Airport first shared that its runway was temporarily closed following the incident at around 2.40pm.

In an update posted on X, the airport said: “Following an aircraft incident that occurred this afternoon, operations are expected to remain suspended until at least 8pm.

“Passengers at the airport are advised to speak to their airline for further information. We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused.”

The Air Accidents Investigations Branch (AAIB) said it had started an investigation into the incident, with “a multi-disciplinary team including inspectors with expertise in aircraft operations, engineering and recorded data” deployed to the airport.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said disruption at the airport was “minimal” but she understood “how frustrating” the situation was for passengers.

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 doctor’s 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 Majorca 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.”

Flights were forced to divert away from the airport after its runway was closed (FlightRadar 24/PA)

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.”

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.”

Woodgate Aviation said one of its Beechcraft fixed-wing aircraft was involved in the incident.

The company said in a statement: “The turbo-prop aircraft was on a flight to Belfast International Airport when it developed landing gear problems. The aircraft returned to Birmingham and made an emergency landing and the main under-carriage collapsed on touch down.

“Two crew members and a passenger were on board but were uninjured.

“The aircraft remains on the runway and Woodgate Aviation will be co-operating fully with Air Accident investigators and airport services.

“We would like to pay tribute to the professionalism of our colleagues and the emergency services at the airport for their prompt action.”

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.