74 passengers and six crew members on board an Air Europa flight to Lanzarote from Glasgow were caught up in dramatic scenes at Arrecife airport this morning. As their plane – a Boeing 737 – overshot the runway and skidded into the beachfront perimeter fence. All passengers were safely evacuated and no casualties have been reported.
The flight (number AEA196), which had been charted by Thomas Cook, departed Glasgow airport this morning at 3am. According to news reports some passengers reported an unusual degree of vibration in the vicinity of the planes wings on descent. Whilst airlines sources have stated that wet and windy conditions contributed to the aircraft leaving the runway.
According to a Thomas Cook spokesperson “We can confirm that an Air Europa flight (AEA196), which was chartered by Thomas Cook, was involved in a runway incident at Lanzarote’s Arrecife airport this morning. Thomas Cook staff were on hand at the airport to assist all passengers and can confirm that all guests are now en route to their holiday hotels. Thomas Cook has called on Air Europa and the airport authorities to provide a full explanation.”
Air Europa will be launching a full investigation into the incident, which caused has caused the temporary closure of the airport.
