Flights grounded after “explosion” at Stansted Airport

Photo: Sam Long

Flights into and out of Stansted Airport were grounded after passengers reported hearing an “explosion” on a departing plane.

The Laudamotion flight to Vienna aborted take-off at about 20:00 GMT, forcing the 169 people on board to evacuate via emergency slides.

Incoming flights were diverted to other airports following the incident, which a Stansted spokesman said was caused by “suspected engine failure”.

The runway reopened just after 22:40.

An airport spokesman said eight people sustained minor injuries.

One passenger, Sam Long, wrote on Twitter that there was a “loud bang” as the plane began to accelerate and take off, followed by “huge deceleration”.

Stansted Airport tweeted: “Emergency service attended and all passengers were evacuated from the aircraft as a precaution.”

The plane was removed from the runway shortly before 22:00 and an inspection was undertaken before flights resumed.

Laudamotion later tweeted: “The crew of OE flight from Stansted to Vienna decided to abort the take off due to engine issues and to disembark the passengers on the runway as a precautionary measure.

“Passengers were transferred to the terminal by bus and will be re-accommodated onto a replacement flight.”

SOURCE: BBC