Fire engines surround plane at Manchester Airport as smoke billows from engines

‘There was an enormous amount of smoke from the right engine’ said one eyewitness

Passengers on a Tui flight got a shock on landing at Manchester Airport on Saturday as their plane was surrounded by firefighters and smoke emerged from the engines.

Flight TOM2609, which was operated by an unnamed partner airline, had flown from Mahon in Menorca when it encountered a “technical issue” on landing.

Passenger Jonathan Butler told reporters that he had seen smoke billowing from the aircraft, and added that the pilot had informed passengers of an “oil spillage”.

“The plane landed okay, but we were on the flight for a while afterwards,” he told Manchester Evening News.

“Then when I looked to my right I could see smoke coming out of the engine. Then the captain came on and said there had been an oil spillage.

“They asked the cabin crew to disembark and they then got everyone off the plane as quickly as possible.

“The crew were really professional. But we had to get off without our luggage and we are now still waiting for it at the airport and there are massive delays.

“It was bit worrying with all the emergency services there. There were fire engines everywhere. I’m a bit of an anxious flyer, so it definitely didn’t help.”

Another Manchester Airport passenger told press he had seen the aircraft come in from a lounge in the terminal.

“As it approached gate 106 after arriving at Manchester Airport from Menorca at about 4pm this afternoon it stopped and then as it set off again there was an enormous amount of smoke from the right engine,” they said.

“Then there was a fire in the same engine as it pulled into the gate. The pilots put the fire out before the emergency services arrived.”

A Tui spokesperson said: “We can confirm flight TOM2609 from Mahon to Manchester, which was operated by an airline partner, experienced a technical fault on arrival to the stand and was met by the fire service.

“We are in contact with the airline to get information about the incident and to confirm when the aircraft can return to service.

“The safety of our passengers and crews on partner airlines always remains our highest priority. The aircraft was completely safe to land, and all passengers have been disembarked.

“We understand how unsettling it can be when an aircraft is met by emergency services so we will continue to offer our full support.

“We’d like to apologise to all customers for the inconvenience and thank them for their patience and understanding at this time.”

Earlier this month, dramatic footage emerged of a United Airlines flight being evacuated on landing, when crew detected a fire onboard.

Passengers and crew can be heard shouting and panicking as they rush to get off the aircraft. All on board were able to leave the flight unharmed.