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Passengers caught up in today’s plane scare at Stornoway airport faced further problems when they couldn’t get on a second aircraft meant to get them home.

 

Twenty nine people were onboard a Loganair Saab 340B plane which veered off the runway at Stornoway airport.

The incident caused chaos at the check-in desk with most flights, including the Aberdeen and Edinburgh timetables, cancelled.

 

After waiting all day, some shaken passengers from the morning incident managed to get a seat on the afternoon plane to Glasgow - the only flight operating - just to be told at the last minute that it would not take them.

 

As a result of the crash air traffic was switched to the smaller secondary runway, which is restricted to daylight use.

 

Apparently, the combined weight of passengers and luggage was going to be too heavy for the second runway so the majority of people booked on the plane were ushered back into the airport lounge.

 

Airport staff made frantic phone calls to try and hold up the Stornoway ferry - already delayed because of adverse sea and weather conditions - due to depart imminently for Ullapool.

 

The Cal Mac skipper of the MV Isle of Lewis waited for the stranded fliers.

 

Loganair personnel then had to urgently summon back a hired coach which had been despatched 15 minutes minutes earlier to take a load of other disrupted fliers to the ferry terminal.

 

The airline offered to bus all affected passengers from Ullapool to Glasgow and Edinburgh.

 

Other disrupted fliers from the crash face further travel delays as Saturday’s planes between Stornoway and Glasgow are fully booked. It may be Sunday before they can get to the mainland.

 

Saturday’s flights in and out of Stornoway airport are liable to disruption due to the investigation and the crashed runway plane.

 

 

Cal Mac waits for stranded air passengers

3 January 2015

Disrupted air passengers were bussed to the ferry