Manchester air disaster: Survivors given apology on 30th anniversary

British Airways (BA) and Manchester Airport have apologised to survivors and the families of those who died in the Manchester air disaster.

Fifty-three passengers and two crew died when an engine caught fire on a jet on 22 August 1985.

A meeting, held by airport and airline executives and attended by relatives of the 55 killed, took place earlier.

BA said the apology was "for their loss" and the "memories they have had to live with over the past 30 years".

Survivors, relatives of those killed and airport staff were among those who attended a memorial service held at the airport to mark the 30th anniversary.

Simon Beardmore, who was 15 at the time and survived the fire, said: "We met as a small group to talk about the things that happened on that day. I'm really pleased and astounded to be able to report that both [BA and Manchester Airport] have given us that apology today.

"Those words, although really small, mean an awful lot to us."

The deadly fire on the British Airtours 737 jet, which had been due to fly to Corfu, eventually led to a host of safety measures being introduced.

The pilot abandoned take-off, but passengers were left trapped as flames engulfed the rear of the plane.

Most of the victims died from the effects of smoke inhalation as passengers tried to escape the aircraft.

An investigation found the disaster was caused by a series of failures.

Many were impeded by the layout of the seats, and the narrow width of the exits.

How did the 1985 Manchester disaster change air travel?

• An aircraft on fire will now stop on the runway so passengers can be evacuated as quickly as possible

• Seats next to over-wing exits were removed

• Read about more changes - and the experiences of survivors