Passengers forced to evacuate plane using slides in emergency that temporarily blocked flights at major airport

Flights into the East Coast hub in New Jersey were temporarily suspended on Wednesday evening

JetBlue passengers were forced to evacuate their plane using slides in an emergency landing Wednesday that temporarily blocked flights at Newark Liberty International Airport.

“The Airbus A320 was headed to Palm Beach International Airport in Florida and the crew reported an engine issue shortly after departing,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement about the flight that prompted the stop.

“After JetBlue Flight 543 safely returned to Newark Liberty International Airport and exited the runway, the crew reported smoke in the cockpit and evacuated passengers via slides,” the statement adds.

By 7:07 p.m. local time, normal operations at Newark had resumed, the airport wrote on its website.

“Safety is JetBlue’s top priority,” JetBlue said in a statement to The Independent. “We are focused on supporting our customers and crewmembers and will work closely with the appropriate federal authorities to investigate what occurred.”

JetBlue passengers were forced to evacuate their plane using slides in an emergency landing Wednesday that temporarily blocked flights at Newark Liberty International Airport (Getty Images)

There were no immediate injuries reported, according to northjersey.com.

Unverified social media video of the incident showed passengers milling around on the runway as a JetBlue plane could be seen in the background with its slide deployed.

Flights out of Newark were delayed by at least 30 minutes on average, while flights into the airport were delayed more than two hours, according to the FAA.

All delays at Newark had ended as of late Wednesday night.

Journalist Ahmed Eldin said he was among those delayed as a result of the incident.

He shared a video of the runway on X filled with what appeared to be emergency vehicles and said he was stuck on the tarmac.

The Airbus A320 was headed to Palm Beach when an engine issue was reported (AFP via Getty Images)

Alexandra Svokos, a passenger on the disrupted JetBlue flight, told CBS New York flyers observed smoke by the cockpit and they were “trying to figure out what was going on.”

While the landing was smooth, the evacuation of passengers was chaotic, according to Svokos.

"They put down the slides, and we rushed out more or less in a very disorganized stampede, get out and jumped down the slides and got out and ran away from the plane," she said.

The emergency landing left some passengers distraught. Svokos told the local outlet, “People were shaking and panicking, and people were crying.”

Wednesday’s incident comes as families tied to last year’s fatal collision between an Army helicopter and a commercial airliner press for safety reforms.

They are urging lawmakers in Congress to require flights to carry advanced aircraft locator systems they believe may have stopped the January 2025 collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, which killed 67 people.