Flights grounded at city airport

All Easyjet flights scheduled to depart from Bristol International Airport on Friday morning have been cancelled.

Fifteen flights have been affected after the budget airline raised concerns about skidding when landing in wet weather.

Other flights are unaffected and BA, Ryanair or Air Lingus have not cancelled any departures.

The airport said safety was paramount and that it is reviewing the situation on the status of the runway surface.

A passenger has reported that a pilot announced to the cabin that they could not take off because the runway was unsafe and too slippery.

And 10 planes were diverted to Cardiff Airport on 30 December after three planes came off the runway at Bristol, it has emerged.

A pilot, speaking to BBC News anonymously, added: "It has been like this for six to eight weeks.

"I've landed in wet weather, put the brakes on and come to the bit that is being re-surfaced, and just skated across it - we actually speeded up. When it is wet, you have no grip."

Easyjet spokesman Toby Nicol said the company would not run flights from Bristol while the runway was wet, and was moving its Bristol operations to another airport on Friday afternoon.

"Any rain over the weekend will prevent flights from Bristol," he said.

"Bristol airport has been laying a new runway and what they have not had a chance to do is cut grooves into the surface.

"We have found that this is having an effect on braking distances on the runway in wet weather.

"The safety of its passengers, crew and aircraft is Easyjet's first priority and this decision has been taken following discussions with Bristol Airport and the Civil Aviation Authority.

"Customers are entitled to a refund of the fare paid or a free transfer on to another Easyjet flight within the next month."

Ryanair told the BBC it had experienced no problems at the airport and was unaware of any concerns. BA would not comment further.

Bristol Airport's operations director, Paul Davies, said: "Easyjet's decision has been made based on a number of factors including information passed to the airline by the airport on the condition of the runway surface.

"Their decision to temporarily suspend flights in wet conditions is based on operational conditions within which its aircraft can operate.

"Information on the status of the runway is regularly passed to all airlines as part of the airport's standard operational procedures."

In December, a plane operated by Guernsey airline Aurigny with 52 passengers on board, ended up on the safety zone at the end of the runway after landing at Bristol.

'Diverting flights'

And an Easyjet flight from Malaga has also recently strayed on to the safety area at Bristol while taxiing.

The Easyjet spokesman added: "The runway conditions are slick at present and we are not confident we can land our aircraft in wet weather without skidding.

"We are looking at the option of diverting some of our flights to Cardiff or Birmingham airports."

Barcelona, Prague and Newcastle are among the routes served by Easyjet from Bristol.

In October, the airport announced its £17m runway resurfacing plans, scheduled to last five months.

Carl Lapworth, head of engineering at the airport, said at the time: "The resurfacing of the runway has been planned very carefully, taking into account the needs of the airport, local communities and the authorities."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/6233487.stm