Rome: Close to 200 passengers were evacuated from a Ryanair flight at Brindisi in southern Italy shortly before takeoff on Thursday morning as fumes were seen outside of the plane, possibly due to a tyre burst. Italian media said 184 passengers had been on board the flight and that firefighters were called out to attend to the incident.
"Flight FR8826 from Brindisi to Turin was delayed this morning after cabin crew observed fumes on the outside of the aircraft," Ryanair said in a statement. "Passengers were disembarked without incident and returned to the terminal by bus." The Brindisi airport in the southwestern region of Puglia in the south of the country has been forced to close due to the emergency.
"Aeroporti di Puglia announces that due to a problem with a departing aircraft, it was necessary to close the Salento Airport in Brindisi. The problem, which occurred when the aircraft was already aligned at the head for take-off, required the evacuation of passengers via emergency slides," The Mirror quoted a spokesperson as saying.
Cabin crew on the flight saw fumes emitting from outside the aircraft as it prepared to depart Brindisi and the emergency procedure was carried out. No significant injuries have been reported. Airline operator Aeroporti di Puglia said the airport had reopened by late morning.
Ryanair said it planned to use a spare aircraft to fly the passengers to Turin later on Thursday to minimise further disruption and inconvenience for the travellers. This incident took place days after all four tyres of a Ryanair flight burst as it landed at the Orio al Serio airport in Italy's Bergamo.
Onlookers who had been on another flight have claimed their pilot told them the episode happened due to a "bad landing", though this has not been confirmed by the airline or airport. Ryanair confirmed a "tyre issue" on Flight FR846 arriving from Barcelona, but no one was injured in the incident. "Passengers disembarked normally, and the aircraft was inspected by engineers, who are currently servicing the aircraft so that it can return to service," a Ryanair spokesperson told Mail Online.
(with Reuters input)
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