Belfast-London Flights Return To Normal After Heathrow Crash

Northern Ireland flights to and from London Heathrow are today getting back to normal following late afternoon and evening disruption after a British Airways Boeing 777 came down short and skidded across the grass to crash-land on Heathrow's busy south runway.

The undercarriage was wrecked and two wheel units were torn off, but passengers were safely evacuated from the plane on emergency chutes.

Belfast International Airport was immediately affected and reported that all arrivals and departures to the airport had been suspended as the London runway used for the newly introduced Aer Lingus service was closed.

Flights were unable to land at or take off from the south runway as emergency services worked on the stricken aircraft, which had arrived from Beijing in China.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Belfast City Airport said last night that the BMI service to Heathrow - which offers eight flights a day - was running, but experiencing delays of around two hours.

"There are no other flights affected. BMI are still going, but they are experiencing two-hour delays," he said last night.

Flights at City of Derry airport were unaffected as its London services operate through Stansted airport.

Heathrow Airport was forced to cancel almost 100 flights in the wake of the accident, which took place within 1,000 yards of the Prime Minister's plane.

Hundreds of passengers endured flight delays as the south runway at Heathrow was shut down

One passenger spoke of the plane coming in at a "funny angle" and " belly-flopping" on to the grass, with evacuation down the ramps being conducted very quickly.

People hoping to fly out of the UK later in the evening were told to contact their airline before travelling to the airport and to check for the latest travel updates online.

Arriving flights were also switched to London's other airports at Gatwick, Stansted and Luton and some were ferried on to their ultimate destination in coaches.

For a time, a flight restriction was imposed by the National Air Traffic Services (NATS), which oversees the UK's air space.

However, flights were leaving on Friday morning as normal, with little or no disruption.

A major investigation is continuing on the cause of the crash in Heathrow.

(BMcC)