The many passengers on a Ryanair flight from Brindisi to Turin escaped unharmed after flames were observed shooting from the left engine while the plane was taxiing for takeoff.
The incident occurred at Aeroporti di Puglia, causing the Boeing 737-800 carrying 184 passengers to abandon its departure around 8:35 a.m. local time, Mail Online reports.
Italian newspaper Correire Della Sera reported that passengers were evacuated using inflatable slides after witnessing ‘moments of fear.’
Local media attributed the fire to a severe engine issue, grounding all flights from the airport for nearly three hours. Operations resumed at 11:25 a.m.
A Ryanair spokesperson told The Sun, “Flight FR8826 from Brindisi to Turin was delayed this morning after cabin crew observed fumes on the outside of the aircraft.
“Passengers were disembarked without incident and returned to the terminal by bus. We sincerely apologise to affected passengers for this delay.”
A replacement plane was scheduled to take off later to transport passengers safely to Turin.
This follows a separate incident at Bergamo’s Orio al Serio airport, where a Ryanair flight from Barcelona burst all four tyres during landing.
Dramatic photos captured the damaged plane with its tyres missing and metal wheels scraped down. Flights at Bergamo were suspended following the incident.
Alice Longhurst, a marketing consultant from London, said, “You could smell the burning rubber in the plane.
“That was quite scary.” Longhurst added, “We were ready to go and there were flames which were scary. I was shocked. I never experienced anything like this before.”
