Hundreds of passengers stranded with flights cancelled as ‘pothole’ appears on the runway at busy UK airport

A passenger onboard a BA flight described the moment the ’pothole’ was discovered

Hundreds of passengers were left stranded after a giant one metre long "pothole" appeared on the runway at a busy airport.

Three flights were either cancelled or rescheduled and five were diverted amid the chaos at Newcastle Airport on Wednesday night.

Passengers a Newcastle Airport were stranded due to a one metre ’pothole’ on the runwayCredit: Nick Allen

Eight flights were either cancelled, diverted or rescheduledCredit: Nick Allen 

They included planes flown by British Airways, Jet2, EasyJet, Ryanair and TUI.

Passenger Nick Allen, 27, was on board an 8.40pm BA flight to London waiting to take-off when the plane turned back to the terminal due to what he described as a "pothole".

However, an airport spokesperson said the defect is actually called "raveling".

Nick said: "Everything was fine to begin with. We got on the plane and it taxied out to the runway.

"But we never accelerated. The plane just rolled back towards the stand.

"The pilot announced that the Air Traffic Control had found a defect on the runway.

"They were told that they were clear to take off at their own discretion which essentially means they are legally liable if something goes wrong.

"They were unwilling to take the risk so the flight was cancelled.

"We’ve got potholes all over the roads, on the railways and now even on runways."

The Newcastle-based environmental researcher, who was heading to the capital for a job interview, added: "The pilot said it was the most British thing he’d ever heard."

Nick was rebooked on another flight.

Other flights from Poland, Tenerife and Cyprus were among those impacted by the "pothole".

Today an airport spokesman said: "Our runway was closed for a short period last night while a defect was inspected.

"This was completed as quickly as possible and the runway reopened.

"Unfortunately as a result, five inbound flights opted to divert during the short closure and three outbound flights were cancelled or rescheduled.

"Flights are now operating as normal and we apologise to any passengers affected."

A second spokesperson later added: "The defect was what is known as ’raveling’ - where the loss of the surface exposes the surface layer beneath. 

"The area was approximately 1m in length and averaged less than half an inch in depth with no loose debris."

Emma Davis