EasyJet plane met by fire engines at Manchester Airport as passengers taken off flight

Passengers are being put up in hotels for the night after the flight was cancelled

An easyJet plane due to depart Manchester Airport was surrounded by fire engines – with passengers taken off after an alert from the pilot.

Flight EZY 9143 was due to depart from Manchester to Dalaman in Turkey at 5:30pm this evening (Thursday, August 20).

However, as it was being pushed back ready for take-off, the Manchester Evening News understands the pilot reported the smell of fumes in the cockpit.

Click here to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter

As is protocol, emergency services, including airport fire crews, attended, but the M.E.N understands there was no fire.

EasyJet says there was a ‘technical issue’ with the Airbus A321, which meant it could not fly as planned wih today’s flight cancelled. The airline described the emergency service response as ‘a precuation only.’

Passengers were disembarked with the airline saying they have been given hotel rooms for the night and will fly on a replacement aircraft tomorrow (Friday).

The emergency service response is said to have briefly held up a small number of other flights due to depart around the same time, but did not cause any significant disruption.

Around the same time, a fire alarm is said to have sounded in the terminal, but this is believed to have been unrelated and a false alarm.

An easyJet spokesperson told the M.E.N “Flight EZY9143 from Manchester to Dalaman was unable to operate on 20 August due to a technical issue with the aircraft. The aircraft was met by emergency services as a precaution only, and customers disembarked normally.

“Unfortunately, the technical issue meant the flight could not operate as planned. Customers have been provided with hotel accommodation and meals where required and are expected to continue their journey to Dalaman on Friday 21 August on a replacement aircraft.

“We are sorry for any inconvenience this will have caused and did all we could to minimise the impact of the disruption.

“The safety of our customers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority, and easyJet operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with all manufacturers’ guidelines.”