MANCHESTER Airport was operating normally again today after being forced to close when two tyres on an Airtours jet burst as it landed.
The Airbus A321 had arrived from Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands when the drama happened.
All 169 passengers were led from the plane via steps and no one was injured.
The airport was closed for more than an hour, and a dozen incoming flights were diverted to Leeds, Liverpool and Birmingham.
An airport spokesman said: "There was no indication of any problems on landing, but as the plane reached the end of the runway two of its tyres burst.
"The plane came to a natural halt when this happened. There was no crash landing.
"At no time were any of the 169 passengers or the crew of 10 in danger."
A spokesman for Rossendale-based Airtours International said: "The aircraft made a normal approach to Manchester Airport and landed normally. When it landed one of the tyres burst.
"The pilots are highly trained to deal with these situations. The aircraft came to a stop, the passengers disembarked using the steps in the normal way and were brought back to the terminal."
The company said the plane had been fixed and was expected to be back in operation today.
Previous news story
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article