Austrian Airlines: Plane from Heathrow severely damaged after 'colliding with a jet bridge' on the ground at Vienna Airport

An Austrian Airlines plane from London Heathrow Airport was severely damaged at Vienna Airport in Austria as it reportedly “collided with a jet bridge”. The incident occurred on Saturday night (6 April) at 22:37 local time and the aircraft has since been “grounded for repairs”.

The aircraft, registered as OE-LZQ, had arrived at Vienna Airport following a flight from London Heathrow. Photos shared on social media platforms showed the extent of the damage, with the aircraft’s wing appearing to collide with a utility pole and its right horizontal stabiliser completely torn off.

Breaking Aviation News and Videos posted on X, formerly Twitter: “Austrian Airlines A320-271N substantially damaged on the ground at Vienna Airport after reportedly colliding with a jet bridge. The aircraft arrived as flight OS456 from London-Heathrow Airport at gate F13 at 20:45 UTC on Saturday but has since been grounded for repairs.”

One user responded: “Dang, the plane is not even a year old.” Austrian Airlines had taken delivery of this A320neo just last December making the incident more alarming for the airline and aviation authorities. Another user wrote: “This seems to be happening very often now”.

The incident comes after two planes collided at Heathrow Airport on Saturday. A video shared on social media showed a Virgin Atlantic plane's wing making contact with a British Airways aircraft, with emergency services present at the scene. The Virgin Boeing 787-9 had completed a flight and was being towed to another area of the airfield. No passengers are believed to have been onboard at the time of the incident.

Austrian Airlines told NationalWorld: “We confirm that damage has occurred to one of our A320neo aircraft outside the operation of the aircraft (i.e. without crew and passengers on board). An investigation into the cause and extent of the damage has been initiated.”