Update:
6.45pm – The runway at Shannon was reopened at 6.30 and full operations have now resumed.
At 5.55pm, the plane was safely towed off the runway onto a taxiway. An inspection of the runway surface was carried out to ensure it hadn’t sustained any damage in the incident.
In the meantime, fire crews remained with the aircraft as it was towed to a hangar, an operation that took almost 20 minutes.
Shannon Airport later confirmed: “Following a clean-up of the area the airport runway reopened at 6.30. Shannon Airport would like to thank its staff, the airport operators who assisted with this incident, and airport passengers for their patience.”
Earlier: Operations have been brought to a standstill at Shannon Airport following an incident this evening involving a light aircraft.
It’s understood that the plane suffered a collapsed nose-wheel shortly after landing at Shannon.
Airport fire and rescue crews responded quickly to the incident which occurred at around 4.30pm.
It’s understood there was only one person on board the aircraft and that he has not suffered any injuries. He was able to vacate the aircraft safely.
Two flights, an Aer Lingus service from London and a Ryanair aircraft which was inbound from Wroclaw in Poland, have been diverted to Cork Airport.
Efforts are underway to clear the aircraft from the runway with a view to resuming operations as soon as possible.
Once the aircraft has been removed from the runway, it’s expected that an inspection will be carried out to establish whether the surface of the runway has been damaged.
A Shannon Airport spokesperson said: “Shannon Airport has confirmed the temporary closure of the airport runway due to a technical issue with a light aircraft.
The following flights have been diverted to Cork; Aer Lingus EI 385 from London Heathrow due to land at Shannon at 16:50 and Ryanair FR1173 Wroclaw due at land at Shannon at 17:25.”
Shannon Airport has now re-opened.
We would like to thank our team, the airport operators who assisted with this incident, and our passengers for their patience.
Passengers should continue to check their flight status with their airline.
Thank you. pic.twitter.com/rELmlIQnmY
— Shannon Airport (@ShannonAirport) December 2, 2019