Plane slips off taxiway in snowy Heathrow weather

A plane landing at Heathrow airport slipped off the taxiway and came to as top with its front wheel in a grassy verge.

Snow and ice at the busy airport are being blamed for the incident which occurred after a Cyprus Airways flight landed at 8:20 on Monday morning and was moving to Terminal 1.

A British Airports Authority BAA) spokesman reported that the passengers remained on the aircraft but that there were no injuries.

The spokesperson added that the plane’s front wheel had landed in a grassy area off the taxiway and that the plane was being moved.

The aircraft was the last to land before both of Heathrow’s runways were closed due to snow that was dropped on the airport earlier on Monday morning. The southern runway subsequently re-opened.

British Airways announced the cancellation of all flights until 5:00pm local time.

Officials at London City Airport report that that airport had also been closed.

London was reporting its heaviest snowfall in 18 years, with six centimetres falling on Heathrow airport, according to the Met Office.

The Met Office issued an extreme weather warning for all of south-east England.

www.heathrowairport.com