British passengers have described chaotic scenes after ‘all four’ tyres on a Ryanair plane burst as it landed in Italy.
Arriving and departing flights have been suspended at Bergamo’s Orio al Serio airport, near Milan, following the incident involving the flight from Barcelona.
Dramatic pictures show the passenger plane with its tyres missing and metal wheels ground down after apparently scraping along the runway, which was also damaged.
Onlookers who had been on another flight have claimed that their pilot told them it happened due to a ‘bad landing’, though this has not been confirmed by the airline or airport.
Alice Longhurst, a marketing consultant from London, said: ‘You could smell the burning rubber in the plane. That was quite scary.
‘We were ready to go and there were flames which was scary. I was shocked. I never experienced anything like this before.
Ryanair flight FR846 which arrived from Barcelona El Prat, on the runway of Orio al Serio airport, in Bergamo, Italy
Dramatic pictures show one one of the burst tyres on the Ryanair plane
Passengers wait for their flights at Orio al Serio airport after the Milan-Bergamo airport was closed due to the incident
‘They told us to wait for a couple of hours and then they took us off the plane,’ the 35-year-old went on.
She is now currently waiting at Bergamo airport and said she was told to expect delays of at least six hours.
Cleanup operations are reported to be underway after the tarmac was damaged.
Emergency services were pictured at the scene, but no one is believed to have been injured.
Airport authorities have reportedly said that no flights will be operating until at least 5pm local time.
Incoming flights were diverted to other airports, including Milan Malpensa and Verona, Sky Italia reports.
A spokesperson from Ryanair said: ‘Flight FR846 from Barcelona to Milan Bergamo (1 Oct) experienced a tyre issue upon landing at Milan Bergamo Airport.
‘Passengers disembarked normally, and the aircraft was inspected by engineers, who are currently servicing the aircraft so that it can return to service.’
Emergency services are seen at the site of the dramatic landing on Tuesday
Airport authorities said in separate comments: ‘SACBO [the company that manages the airport] advises that due to an aircraft grounded on the runway due to technical problems, operations are suspended.
‘Departing flights are delayed and arriving flights may be diverted or cancelled until reopened.’
