Travellers' ordeal after TUI plane 'bounces off' Bristol Airport runway in aborted landing

Police and paramedics had to be called to the plane when it was diverted to Birmingham Credit: BPM Media

Passengers on a flight which had to abort a landing at Bristol Airport have spoken out saying the plane 'bounced hard' off the runway before being diverted to Birmingham.

The passengers on board a TUI flight from Cape Verde to Bristol had already endured several hours of delays when the landing was aborted.

Overall their journey lasted 20 hours with the plane being diverted to Birmingham, where it was held on the runway before passengers eventually had to get a coach back to Bristol - a day after they were due to arrive.

TUI has apologised to passengers.

The journey on board the Boeing Dreamliner was supposed to begin early on Tuesday evening (7 June) but did not take off until just before midnight.

The plane was due to land at Bristol airport after being delayed but the landing was aborted Credit: Bristol Airport

But passengers said things started to go wrong when the pilot began the descent into Bristol Airport, saying they touched down hard on the runway before flying off again.

Rachel Lewis, from Devon, said: "We absolutely bounced off the runway back into the sky, causing a system error.

"Before we landed, the captain said it would be bouncy due to the tarmac length. The plane honestly felt like it smashed the tarmac, then we went back up into the air.

"The captain announced this was normal and he was going to try again. We did a big turn and then he announced a system error had occurred."

She added: "Honestly, it was scary. I've landed in Canada in ice and snow, but this was 'bounce, bounce'."

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Passengers were then kept on board for two hours on arrival in Birmingham, while the plane was inspected, to see if it could fly back to Bristol.

Rachel said "people were kicking off" so police boarded the plane.

After two hours passengers said they were told the plane would not be flying back to Bristol, and returned via coach instead.

In a statement, TUI said: "We can confirm that TOM245 from Sal, Cape Verde, to Bristol was diverted to Birmingham on 7 June due to weather conditions at Bristol Airport. Our crew offered all possible support during the flight before everyone was safely disembarked.

"We’d like to apologise for the inconvenience caused to customers onboard. The safety and wellbeing of passengers and crew is always our highest priority and we’d like to thank passengers for their patience and understanding."