Thomson Airways emergency landing at Cardiff

THE Thomson Airways aircraft TOM655 from Tenerife made a safe emergency landing at Cardiff airport on Saturday September 19.

The aircraft which was carrying 200 people suffered problems with the landing flaps, used to reduce the speed and shorten landing distances as it was about to land, so the pilot pulled out and circled the city to reduce fuel.

The pilot came over the loud speaker advising passengers of the problem and saying ‘this is not a drill’ whilst reporting an emergency to the control tower.

Passengers were told to take the brace position and a pregnant woman was moved as the aircraft came in for a hard emergency landing. There were cheers when it came to a halt 20 metres from the end of the runway where emergency services were waiting.

A spokesperson for the airline reported “Following standard procedure, Cardiff air traffic control contacted the emergency services to meet the flight. The aircraft landed safely and all passengers disembarked the flight normally.”

The emergency landing led to other Thomson flights being disrupted and more than 300 passengers were left at the airport in Mahon on Menorca having to sleep ‘rough’ even though the airline was well aware of the reason for the delay yet allegedly did nothing.

A spokesperson for the company said: “We would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused to customers travelling on flight TOM2657 from Mahon to Manchester Airport.

“The aircraft operating this flight was delayed due to mandatory crew rest restrictions. An alternative aircraft was sourced as quickly as possible and we did all we could to assist our customers at Mahon airport.”