Yola airport closed to air traffic as broken-down plane blocks runway

Since Sunday evening, all incoming and outgoing flights at Yola International Airport have been banned following a minor incident on the runway.

According to reports, a plane’s tires blew out on Sunday evening as it was trying to leave the airport, causing a traffic situation.

It was reported that a Max Air plane was taxiing for takeoff when it suffered a blowout. The plane stalled on the runway, preventing other planes from taking off or landing.

The Max Air plane, carrying 119 passengers and six crew, had been cleared to take off from Yola airport en route to Abuja when the incident occurred on the ground, damaging all its tyres.

The Assistant Director, Corporate Communications Department of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Mrs. Ijeoma Nwosu-Igbo, disclosed this on telephone on Monday afternoon. She said the disabled aircraft would be removed soon.

She could not immediately say when the removal would take place.

However, another source working at Yola airport said at the time of filing this report, just before 5pm on Monday, that technicians had arrived at the airport to repair the broken-down aircraft.