EasyJet planes ‘clip wings' at Manchester airport
The budget airline aircraft were taxiing to the runway when they collided with a 'massive thud' shortly after 6am.
The wing tips of the two planes were left severed on the runway, with a member of the ground crew photographed holding them aloft.
The flights to Gibraltar, U22267, and Paris, U22117, were later cancelled and other easyJet passengers faced knock-on delays of up to an hour and a half.
Phil Aspin, 34, said the Paris-bound flight 'went straight into the side' of the Gibraltar flight he was on as they taxied to the runway.
He told Manchester Evening News: 'We were about to take off.'
'They said it would be about 10 minutes, and we were second in the queue.
'There was sort of a crossroads on the runway. The best way to describe it is that there was a V, and we were turning to the left, and they were going to the right-hand side. We were just stationary at the time.'
Credit: SWNS
He added: 'There was a massive thud, and the whole plane shook. My friend who was sitting next to the wing saw a piece of it fly across his window.
'There were lots of bits of wing on the floor, then a guy came and picked them up. It was a bit surreal.'
Mr Aspin said he and his fellow passengers alighted from the plane at 7.30am and were awaiting alternative flights.
The collision caused delays of up to an hour and a half for other easyJet flights departing from Manchester.
The 7.15am flight to Porto departed at 8.41am and the 7.45am flight to Antalya departed at 8.31am.
Other airlines were not affected and there were no reports of injuries.
EasyJet issues apology
A spokesman for easyJet said: 'EasyJet can confirm that the wing tips of two aircraft came into contact whilst taxiing to the runway at Manchester Airport this morning.
'The aircraft returned to stand to disembark customers who have been provided with refreshment vouchers whilst replacement aircraft are arranged to operate the flights.
'We apologise to customers for the delay to their flights.
'The safety of our passengers and crew is our highest priority.'
A spokesman for Manchester Airport said: 'I can confirm two easyJet planes clipped wings as they taxied on the airfield.
'We suspended operations briefly while they were assessed to see if they could taxi back to a stand, which they could, so operations resumed after a few minutes.
'EasyJet is handling arrangements for passengers affected.'
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