Late night flights suspended due to runway defect

Flights to and from Bristol Airport have been suspended due to a defect on the runway.

Bristol Airport said it had suspended operations at 18:08 BST while it assessed and repaired the issue, leaving hundreds of passengers stuck.

The airport said all flights were suspended until at least 06:00 on Saturday and arrivals were being diverted to other airports.

A statement from airline EasyJet warned passengers travelling to and from the airport to expect disruption.

According to Bristol Airport's website, there are almost 50 flights due to arrive while the runway is closed along with 14 departures.

Paul Smith was due to fly to Glasgow for his son's 20th birthday but has had to cancel his trip.

"At the moment I'm in baggage return with lots of other people desperately trying to find my bags," he said.

Smith said passengers from about a dozen flights were told they were cancelled and they should all go to two gates.

"The communication, advice and support for passengers has been really poor," he said.

There were no announcements on the tannoy system for over an hour, he said, which meant EasyJet reps in the departure lounge were the only source of information. What we've heard is that there's a hole in the runway."

Richard Broadbent said his partner and daughter were due to fly to Newcastle at about 19:00 but were stuck at the airport.

"She said suddenly all flights were cancelled and all passengers were moved to one place down at ground level, and it was absolutely packed.

"Then alarms started going off, people were screaming and passengers were trying to break out, there was no staff," he said.

"She was ever so upset, I could hear people screaming on the phone."

A Bristol Airport spokesperson said: "Due to a defect on the runway, we have temporarily suspended operations as a precaution, in order to inspect and repair the section affected.

"We apologise for any inconvenience. Safety is always our number one priority," they added.

"Customers should refer to their airlines with any flight queries."

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