Flights stopped at UK airport after 'hole opens up on the runway'

09 January 2024 , 11:30

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Passengers reported being stranded on their planes for a short period (Image: supplied)

Flights at Edinburgh Airport were held up after a 'hole' opened on the runway.

Passengers got stuck on planes on Monday when it was discovered that the surface had been damaged. One worried person flying from Edinburgh said they waited for half an hour while workers fixed it.

When workers inspected the issue they found that just a small bit of the runway which cars and planes use to get onto the main stretch which had been impacted.

According to Flight Radar24 some flights were delayed by about 35 minutes before repairs were completed and the airport returned to normal operation. Yesterday on Twitter, one traveller wrote: "Stranded on the tarmac at the Edinburgh Airport because there's a hole in the runway."

Another posted: "Just spent 45 mins circling over Stirling and the central belt due to a hole in runway a @EDI_Airport. Kudos to the crew of our @FlyLoganair."

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Flights coming into the airport were delayed for a short period on Monday (Daily Record)

A spokesperson for Edinburgh Airport's spokesperson said: "Arrivals and departures were suspended for a short time as teams carried out repairs to a small breakup within the airfield. Safety is always our priority and work has now been completed and all operations have resumed. We thank passengers for their patience."

A representative for British Airways said: "Like other aircraft, we experienced minor delays at Edinburgh airport, and we apologise to our customers for the disruption to their journey."

In more positive news for those who fly into or out of Edinburgh Airport, the travel hub has recently been ranked as having some of the cheapest car parking.

The findings were published online as the UK Airport Cost of Parking Index, focusing on the cheapest parking available during a one week period in February.‌‌ In the three cheapest airports, Scotland made the list twice - with Glasgow ranking second most affordable at £54.99 for a week’s stay.

Heathrow is the only airport to charge travellers over £100 - as the second most expensive was East Midlands airport at £81.39 for the seven days. Only four airports set their weekly parking fee under £60 - Liverpool, Glasgow, Belfast International, and Edinburgh.

‌Shahab Siddiqui, founder of FlightsFinder.com said: “Airport car parking charges vary dramatically depending on which part of the country you’re flying from. We’ve found that the most expensive airport (Heathrow) charges customers almost £90 more than the most affordable (Edinburgh), for the exact same times and dates.

‌“When travellers are already having to pay hundreds if not thousands towards the cost of their holiday - airports are now leaving Brits with little choice than to add on another expense on top of everything else."

* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]

Katie Williams