East Midlands Airport: Operations resume after TUI plane suffers punctured tyre mid-flight

In a statement posted at 3.58pm on Monday, July 28, the airport confirmed: "Following an earlier aircraft incident, our runway is now fully operational. We advise checking with your airline for up-to-date information concerning your flight."

The disruption began when a TUI aircraft en route to Birmingham Airport was diverted to East Midlands after the incident. The plane made a safe landing and all passengers disembarked without injury, but the disabled aircraft remained on the runway, blocking other planes from taking off or landing.

Earlier, East Midlands Airport had explained: "We have accepted a diverted TUI aircraft from Birmingham Airport after it declared an emergency with a punctured tyre. It has landed safely, and all passengers have disembarked, but it is currently preventing other aircraft from taking off or landing on our runway."

The incident led to growing frustration among passengers. One user, @tomjoooy, tweeted: "Currently sat on a plane in your airport waiting to take off. This issue was identified before I boarded. Why have I been sat here for an hour?!"

Another, @johnashep, added: "Any chance you could announce this in the airport? Bizarre I have to find this out hunting on Twitter when my flight is affected."

Some passengers also questioned the decision to land at East Midlands instead of Birmingham. "And now all flights destined for EMA are diverting to BHX. Why didn’t it just land at BHX?" wrote @Chris_LCFC1884.