Flights were briefly suspended at Manchester airport on Friday morning after two easyJet planes collided, clipping wings as they taxied to the runway for takeoff.
The aircraft, which were flying to Paris and Gibraltar, came into contact at about 6.30am but were able to return to a stand where all the passengers disembarked. There are no reports of injuries.
A spokesperson for Manchester airport said: “We suspended operations briefly while they were assessed to see if they could taxi back to a stand, which they could so operations resumed after a few minutes.”
Tynisha Chaudhry, who was on the Gibraltar-bound flight with her partner, compared the collision to a car crash. “We felt the whole plane shudder – it was a massive hit,” she told the BBC.
She said “a lot of fire engines” and other safety crews were at the scene as passengers waited onboard as inspections were carried out.
EasyJet said an immediate investigation was launched to understand what happened.
A spokesperson said: “EasyJet can confirm that the wing tips of two aircraft came into contact while taxiing to the runway at Manchester airport this morning. The aircraft returned to stand to disembark customers who have been provided with refreshment vouchers while replacement aircraft are arranged to operate the flights.
“We apologise to customers for the delay to their flights. The safety of our passengers and crew is our highest priority.”
The flights involved were EZY2267 from Manchester to Gibraltar and EZY2117 from Manchester to Paris Charles de Gaulle.
Some passengers posted pictures of the incident on social media, with one noting: “Trip to Disney Paris has started well at #Manchesterairport #easyjet.”
A Friday in the middle of August is a busy day for all UK airports but the live departure board at Manchester airport did not appear to show any wider delays caused by the incident.
