Manchester Airport: Passengers removed from easyJet plane due to reports of 'smoke in aircraft'

Passengers were removed off an easyJet flight yesterday morning (Tuesday 23 January) due to reports of “possible smoke in the aircraft”, according to eyewitnesses. Fire crews were called to the plane at Manchester Airport which was initially supposed to take off at 11:30am.

Pictures showed firefighters onboard the plane and a number of emergency services vehicles surrounding the aircraft which was bound for Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt. An eyewitness told the Manchester Evening News that the passengers had to get off the plane due to “firefighters being unable to find where the smoke has come from” and a replacement aircraft was then arranged.

The flight took off later yesterday afternoon at around 1pm. A Manchester Airport spokesperson said fire crews were “dispatched to investigate as a precaution, in line with standard procedure”. 

A spokesperson for easyJet said: "easyJet can confirm that flight EZY2253 from Manchester to Sharm el Sheikh this morning was delayed due to a technical issue. All passengers have been disembarked normally into the terminal and engineers are investigating the issue.

"We have arranged a replacement aircraft to operate the service as soon as possible. The safety of its passengers and crew is easyJet's highest priority and easyJet operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with all manufacturers’ guidelines. We would like to apologise to the passengers for the inconvenience."