184 passengers and crew evacuated as Ryanair Boeing plane catches fire on runway in Italy
By Barbie Latza Nadeau and Antonia Mortensen, CNN
Rome (CNN) — More than 180 people were evacuated Thursday from a Ryanair Boeing passenger jet after it caught fire while taxiing to take off at Brindisi Airport in southern Italy.
The incident comes two days after a tire blowout on another of the airline’s Boeing planes during landing led to the temporary closure of Milan Bergamo Airport.
A spokesperson for the airport in Brindisi confirmed there had been a fire that halted air traffic for several hours.
Ryanair, the Irish budget airline group that operates Europe’s largest aircraft fleet, said all 184 passengers and crew were safely evacuated on the runway after Thursday’s incident. The plane had been bound for the northern Italian city of Turin.
“Flight FR8826 from Brindisi to Turin (3rd Oct) was delayed this morning after cabin crew observed fumes on the outside of the aircraft. Passengers were disembarked without incident and returned to the terminal by bus,” the airline said in a statement to CNN.
It said that the aircraft was later replaced, and passengers were flown on to their destination. The airport reopened around three hours later, according to the airport’s website.
On Tuesday, another Ryanair aircraft – flight FR846 – headed into Milan Bergamo airport from Barcelona had a tire issue upon landing, which briefly closed the destination airport.
“Passengers disembarked normally, and the aircraft was inspected by engineers, who are currently servicing the aircraft so that it can return to service,” Ryanair said in a statement to CNN.
List of incidents
This week’s events prompted several Italian lawmakers to call for an inquiry into Ryanair’s safety record, citing a number of earlier incidents.
Andrea Caroppo and Mauro D’Attis, deputies in Italy’s lower chamber of Parliament and part of the Forza Italia party that is a member of Italy’s ruling coalition, called for a senate hearing with the country’s National Civil Aviation Authority, ENAC.
“This morning, at Brindisi airport, a new accident occurred, yet another, on a Ryanair plane,” said Caroppo (who is vice president of the Transport Commission of Italy’s lower house of parliament), D’Attis and two other party members in a statement.
“We have therefore asked for an urgent hearing in the Transport Commission at the Chamber of ENAC leaders, with a focus on the safety of Ryanair flights, which – it is worth remembering – is the leading carrier in Italy for passenger traffic,” the statement said.
The statement listed other incidents, including one in May when a flight from the Italian port of Bari to London had to turn around because of technical problems, and another flight in May departing from the northern city of Bologna to Brussels that had to make an emergency landing in Luxembourg because of a fire onboard.
“And these are just some of the many, too many accidents that have involved Ryanair in recent months, in Italy and Europe,” the statement adds.
Ryanair did not respond to a CNN request for comment on the lawmakers’ statement. Boeing, the manufacturer of both aircraft involved in this week’s incidents, referred CNN to Ryanair.
A spokesperson for ENAC said it was investigating the two incidents this week separately.
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