Latest news with #PhilAspin
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
EasyJet planes ‘clip wings' at Manchester airport
Two easyJet planes had 'clipped wings' on Friday morning. 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.' Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Aftermath as two easyJet planes crash on runway leaving passengers shocked
Two easyJet planes collided on the taxiway at Manchester Airport in the UK at 6:33am, leaving debris on the ground but no reported injuries. Flights were briefly suspended, and the aircraft were checked for safety before passengers were bussed back to the terminal. Passenger Phil Aspin described a 'loud thud' as the planes' wings struck each other while they were waiting to take off. EasyJet confirmed the wingtip collision, apologized for delays, and said passengers received refreshment vouchers while replacement aircraft were arranged.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Daily Mail
Major airport stops flights after easyJet planes 'clip wings': Passengers face travel chaos
Two easyJet planes have clipped wings leading to delays and cancellations at a busy UK airport today. The incident took place at Manchester Airport at just after 6.30am this morning with people heading on their summer holidays warned to expect delays. One passenger on board the most badly damaged plane share an image of the wing with its tip damaged and twisted downwards. Phil Aspin tweeted: 'We've crashed on the runway'. Another person on the plane to Marbella in southern Spain said: 'Just on the plane at Manchester Airport and another plane has just hit our wing and took the wing off'. An investigation into how the planes managed to collide - and why they were so close to each other is expected. The incident took place at just after 6.30am today Photographs taken after the incident showed the two easyJet planes side by side. Flights were paused while there were safety checks carried out on the jets. Departures and arrivals were restarted a shirt while later.
Daily Mail
12-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Water bosses warned: DON'T defy bonus ban
The water industry watchdog has warned United Utilities and other suppliers not to raise directors' salaries to swerve a sweeping bonus ban. Ofwat said it would be 'watching closely' after barring United and five other firms – Thames Water, Wessex Water, Anglian Water, Southern Water and Yorkshire Water – from making performance-related payouts this year because of their poor pollution records and other failings. The ban, announced last month, follows public outrage over the huge volumes of raw sewage being dumped into rivers, lakes and seas as a result of years of chronic underinvestment in pipes, sewers and reservoirs. Since they were privatised debt-free in 1989, the utilities, which are monopolies with no competition, have paid out £85 billion in dividends and are now drowning in £60 billion of debt, while household bills have almost doubled in real terms. Customers face hikes of up to 53 per cent before inflation over the next five years to pay for infrastructure repairs. Meanwhile, water bosses awarded themselves more than £112 million in bonuses and incentive payments in the past decade. United was surprised by Ofwat's bonus ban – which is backdated to April 2024 – even though it was responsible for more sewage spills last year than any other water firm. It had already awarded chief executive Louise Beardmore and finance boss Phil Aspin annual bonuses of £417,000 and £269,000 respectively before the regulator's bombshell last month. The company, which has 7 million customers in north-west England, has confirmed it will abide by Ofwat's ruling. But it has refused to rule out raising directors' base salaries this year to compensate them, saying no decision had been made, despite the company being almost four months into its financial year. Beardmore's most recent salary was £716,000 while Aspin's was £462,000. United, which on Friday holds its annual meeting, where it is proposing only minor changes to its pay policy, is the only public company under the bonus ban and so faces stricter rules around its disclosure of executive pay. Another, Thames Water, faces a dressing down from MPs on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee this week after revealing that 21 managers are in line for bonuses of up to £17.5 million from an emergency loan. A £3 billion cash injection was meant to keep the debt-laden water supplier to London and the Thames Valley afloat or face being renationalised.E Ofwat was not made aware of the bonuses until after the first tranche of £2.5 million had been paid, but it is powerless to claw them back because they do not apply to board-level directors. Ofwat's chief executive, David Black, said he was 'disappointed at the lack of transparency' shown by Thames Water, adding: 'At a time when remuneration in the water sector is under significant public scrutiny, we expect water companies to be proactive and transparent.' Ofwat is also unable to stop forgone bonuses being replaced by increased salaries, as was routine in the banking sector when bonus pots were capped after the financial crisis. Ofwat has been criticised for not clamping down on boardroom excess while water firms ran up debts and showered investors with dividends. Last night, it said 'it would be very damaging to public trust in the sector' if the response to the bonus ban was 'to greatly inflate base salaries'. 'We will be closely watching companies' behaviour on executive remuneration in response to the changes, including on base pay,' it said. 'This will inform any changes we may consider necessary when we review the rule in 2027, or earlier if required.'
