Southampton airport: Smoke prompts flights suspension

Flights to and from Southampton Airport had to be suspended after smoke started coming out from underneath a plane.

The Flybe Bombardier Dash 8, which had 76 passengers and four crew on board, aborted take-off while it was taxiing on the runway on Sunday afternoon.

The plane, which was to fly to Guernsey, was subsequently evacuated and no injuries have been reported.

The incident left several services delayed as technicians tackled the problem for more than an hour.

A spokesman said: "Further to an earlier aircraft technical fault, operations are now up and running."

Flybe said safety was its main priority, and engineers were inspecting the plane.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service said it initially sent several fire engines and vehicles to the scene, but it was dealt with by the airport's own fire crews.