Plane makes emergency landing after tyre puncture

An emergency was declared due to the punctured tyre

A passenger plane was forced to make an emergency landing at East Midlands Airport (EMA) due to a punctured tyre.

The TOM7113 TUI flight was flying from the Greek island of Corfu and due to land at Birmingham Airport at 13:35 BST on Monday, before it was diverted.

At about 14:30, EMA confirmed the plane landed safely at the airport in Castle Donington, Leicestershire, adding all passengers had disembarked.

Shortly after 16:00, EMA said its runway had been cleared and was "fully operational" again.

Multiple flights were delayed at the airport, with some arrivals expected more than an hour behind schedule.

Eight planes that were set to land at EMA were diverted to Birmingham Airport while its runway was closed, a spokesperson for the latter confirmed.

A statement from EMA added: "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.

"We are working to resolve this as quickly as possible and ask passengers arriving or departing from East Midlands this afternoon for their patience."

'Bit of a nightmare'

BBC East Midlands editor Anthony Bartram was on a flight that was diverted to Manchester, before it returned to EMA.

He said the tyre appeared to be damaged.

Meanwhile Colin and Mandy Bee, from Nottingham, were preparing to land at East Midlands Airport after a holiday in Malta, when they were told their flight would be diverted to Birmingham.

After arriving in Birmingham, Mr Bee said their plane was sitting on the runway for more than an hour while it was refuelled, before they eventually returned to East Midlands Airport.

"Apparently it was the plane that landed in front of us that had the puncture," Mr Bee said.

He added the journey home had been "a bit of a nightmare".