Belfast City Airport reopens after Aer Lingus plane’s wheel collapses in ‘hard landing’

By Cillian Sherlock, PA

Belfast City Airport’s runway is “operating at normal” after it was forced to close following an emergency incident.

A plane’s nose wheel collapsed as it landed in the airport amid adverse weather conditions on Sunday afternoon.

There were four crew on board and no passengers when the hard landing occurred.

The incident triggered emergency procedures at Belfast City Airport and forced the runway to close for the rest of the day.

Following an incident on 22 December, the runway at Belfast City Airport has reopened & is operating as normal. Passengers impacted by yesterday's closure or those due to travel today should check the status of their flight with the airline.

— Belfast City Airport (@BELFASTCITY_AIR) December 23, 2024

Several flights were redirected.

Emerald Airlines, which was operating the flight on behalf of Aer Lingus, said the incident was a result of adverse weather conditions that has been disrupting travel across the UK.

On Monday morning, Belfast City Airport said normal operations were resuming.

In a statement, it said: “The runway at Belfast City Airport has now reopened and normal operations will resume today.

“Passengers impacted by yesterday’s runway closure or those due to travel today should check the status of their flight with the airline before making their way to the airport.”