Norwich Airport was brought to a standstill on Friday morning after a light aircraft caught fire on the runway during take-off. The incident happened around 8:30am and involved a small engine fire, forcing the closure of the runway until at least 12:30pm.
Travellers have been urged to check in with their airlines before heading to the airport.
Quick response, no injuries reported
Emergency services rushed to the scene, but both the East of England Ambulance Service and Norfolk Constabulary were later stood down. Paramedics confirmed there were no injuries.
One eyewitness told the Eastern Daily Press:
“We could tell something was wrong. We heard ‘crash! crash!’ over the radios… The propellers looked bent. It didn’t look like there was any landing gear down.”
Airport crews later described the situation as “nothing major.”
Flight schedule hit by cancellations and delays
The disruption has already grounded a KLM flight to Amsterdam and delayed a Loganair service to Aberdeen by nearly three hours. On the arrivals side, a KLM flight from Amsterdam was cancelled, while a TUI flight from Corfu has been pushed back by 15 minutes.
The other seven scheduled flights are still expected to operate as planned.
Not the first recent UK runway scare
The Norwich incident comes just weeks after a similar emergency landing at Birmingham Airport caused widespread delays and cancellations, highlighting the ripple effect even a small runway incident can have on travel plans.
