Police intervene on stricken TUI flight after diversion from Bristol Airport to Birmingham Airport

A passenger on board a TUI flight from Cape Verde to Bristol Airport has described the moment the plane ‘bounced off the runway’ before being diverted to Birmingham - where police were called to deal with unrest due to a long wait on the runway.

It was a nightmare end to a long haul flight for the returning holidaymakers who were forced to wait more than an hour on the runway at Birmingham Airport before embarking.

This resulted in the arrival of police on board while paramedics and firefighters were also sent on to deal with a pregnant woman who was taken ill.

TUI has since issued a statement, stating the flight was diverted from Bristol due to weather conditions. It added that crew offered ‘all possible support during the flight before everyone was safely disembarked’.

The trip back home from Sal International Airport on Cape Verde even started badly with the flight delayed for several hours before taking off around midnight, set for arrival at Bristol at around 6am this morning (June 8).

But as the long flight came to an end and the plane began to come down over Keynsham toward Bristol Airport, flight tracking website FlightRadar showed the plane climb again.

On board it was more dramatic as Rachael, who was returning form a holiday with her boyfriend Chris, described.

She said: “Our landing in Bristol - we absolutely bounced off the runway back into the sky, causing a system error and we had to go to Birmingham.

“When we went down at Bristol Airport, the plane honestly felt like it smashed the tarmac, then we went back up into the air. The captain announced this was normal and he was going to try again. He did a big U-turn and then announced a system error had occurred.

“Then the map changed on the TV and it said Birmingham - they then announced it was off to Birmingham. Honestly, it was scary.”

But the drama did not end there.

On arrival at Birmingham, Rachael, who does not wish to give her surname, said passengers were stuck on the plane on the runway for an hour and a half. She added: “We just had the captain saying ‘okay so the bus is coming, can’t tell you when’.”

During that time there was unrest on the flight, said Rachael. A pregnant woman who fell ill needed a paramedic while ‘loads of people were kicking off’, including one man who became abuse to staff and required police attention, she said.

Finally, at 11am - five hours after they were expected in Bristol - the passengers got off the plane and Rachael and her partner faced a two-hour bus journey back to Bristol.

TUI was approached by BristolWorld, which provided a statement.

It said: “We can confirm that TOM245 from Sal to Bristol was diverted to Birmingham on 20th May due to weather conditions at Bristol Airport. Our crew offered all possible support during the flight before everyone was safely disembarked.

“We did everything we could to get passengers home as quickly as possible, including providing transport for all customers to return to Bristol. The safety and wellbeing of passengers and crew is always our highest priority and we’d like to thank passengers for their patience and understanding.”