Thousands of passengers faced significant delays and cancellations at Birmingham Airport on Wednesday after a small aircraft made an emergency landing, forcing the runway to close for several hours. The incident occurred at approximately 1:40pm when a Beechcraft B200 Super King Air, operated by Woodgate Aviation and flying to Belfast, experienced landing gear problems.
West Midlands Police confirmed that three people from the aircraft were treated at the scene, with one suffering minor injuries. All occupants have since been discharged. The runway reopened shortly before 8pm, but by then at least 25 departures had been cancelled, and incoming flights were diverted to Manchester and East Midlands airports.
Passengers described frustration and uncertainty. Gunnar Lauridsen, 76, from Denmark, said he would likely miss his connecting flight to Billund, potentially forcing an overnight stay in Amsterdam. Camile Monteleone, 30, waiting to fly to Barcelona, said she had received no updates from her airline. Faye Melhuish, 38, returning from Spain with her six-month-old daughter, had her flight diverted to East Midlands, adding a coach journey to her travels.
Birmingham Airport apologised for the disruption and advised passengers to check with their airlines before travelling. The Air Accidents Investigations Branch has launched an investigation, deploying a multi-disciplinary team to the airport. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander described the disruption as minimal but acknowledged the frustration for those affected.
