Airline apologises after ‘technical issue’ blocks Manchester Airport runway for hours

As a result of the delay, two other flights had to be cancelled

The aircraft has since been moved (Getty Images)

An airline was forced to apologise after one of its jets suffered a “technical issue”, blocking the taxiway of Manchester Airport for several hours.

A Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong was delayed at Manchester Airport on Thursday (15 December), meaning areas of the airfield were blocked for several hours.

The delay meant that both a TUI flight to Cape Verde and a Brussels Airlines flight to Brussels had to be cancelled, due to being stuck behind the delayed aircraft, reported Manchester Evening News.

Simon Lowe Aviation streamed live footage of the Manchester Airport delay on his YouTube channel.

Mr Lowe’s footage shows the Cathay Pacific aircraft on the taxiway with employees walking around outside, appearing to be assessing the situation for some time. Mr Lowe is also heard saying “Now then, what’s gonna happen here”.

A spokesperson for the airline said: “Cathay Pacific confirms that Flight CX216 departing from Manchester to Hong Kong on 15 December (local time) has been delayed due to a technical issue that caused the aircraft to block the taxiway.”

“The aircraft has since been moved and is now being inspected by our engineers.

“We apologise for the disruption and inconvenience caused to our customers and also for other flights that were disrupted due to the blocked taxiway. We have arranged hotel accommodation and meal services for our customers while maintenance work is being performed.”

A Brussels Airlines plane was stuck behind the Cathay Pacific aircraft, amusing some onlookers as it was decorated with a livery featuring cartoon characters the Smurfs.

A Brussels Airlines spokesperson said: “Despite the difficult situation, we did our utmost best to find solutions for all our passengers. The passengers with connecting flights were rebooked on other flights.