From 12:00 (UTC +1), Lisbon Airport was forced to shut down as tire debris was found on its main runway. Several aircraft entered a holding pattern, other flights diverted to nearby airports.
For more than one hour, take-offs and landings got suspended at Portugal’s biggest airport while several flights diverted to Porto and Faro. Other flights entered a holding pattern. Reason? tire debris from a landing Azul Brazilian Airlines Airbus A330 had to be removed from the runway: “For safety reasons, we were forced to close down the runway,” an airport manager said, “the runway is being cleaned and inspected so it will open as soon as possible.”
Indeed, around 13:15, air traffic resumed at Lisbon. Delays, however, are to be expected.
Aviação: Aeroporto de Lisboa encerrado. Voos estão a ser desviados https://t.co/vxFPXD74Cu
— Público Portugal (@P__Portugal) April 12, 2019
