Hundreds of Brits spend night in Ibiza airport as Lufthansa plane blocks runway

9/17/23, 2:19 PM By Costas News National Photo Credit: Solarpix

Hundreds of British holidaymakers have been left seething after many were forced to spend the night at an airport because a plane's tyres burst while landing. Ibiza Airport, which only has one runway, came to a standstill after a Lufthansa plane travelling from Frankfurt, landed hard and burst two of its tyres of the right main landing gear.

Data from FlightRadar revealed that flight LH1466 got into Ibiza Airport just before 3pm local time yesterday (Saturday), but has not yet left the island, because the aircraft, which was carrying nearly 200 people at the time, was seen stuck on the runway more than 24 hours after it landed.

It is understood that 44 flights were cancelled yesterday alone, made up of 21 arrivals and 23 departures, on top of this, 14 flights were diverted from the airport.

Chaos has erupted at the airport in the hours since the crash, with holidaymakers from across the world being told that they need to figure out sleeping arrangements for themselves.

Hundreds of confused passengers were seen inside and out of the airport anxiously checking their phones, and airport restaurants were full to the brim with passengers who were expecting to get on their planes and go home.

A spokesperson for Lufthansa said: “During the landing of the flight LH1466 on 16th September from Frankfurt to Ibiza, the two tires of the right main landing gear were damaged. The aircraft landed safely and came to a stop at the end of the runway. On board the Airbus A321 were 179 passengers and 6 crew members. There was no danger to the guests or crew at any time.”

“All passengers and crew members exited the aircraft normally via the stairs. The aircraft was able to be towed off the runway and was investigated in detail by engineering. Lufthansa regrets any inconvenience caused to all passengers. Safety is a top priority at all times.”

AENA, the company that operates Ibiza Airport, said it “worked with Lufthansa to solve the issue as soon as possible.”