Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Two planes collide at Amsterdam airport

Both aircraft are understood to be damaged

Tuesday 09 July 2019 12:51 BST
Comments
Two planes collide at Amsterdam Airport

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Two planes collided this morning at Amsterdam Schiphol airport.

An easyJet aircraft crashed into a KLM plane during pushback, when an aircraft leaves the gate ready for take-off.

Both aircraft are understood to be damaged due to the contact.

One passenger onboard the easyJet flight, from Amsterdam to London Gatwick, said the plane’s wing was “lodged” into the KLM aircraft’s tail.

A statement from easyJet said: “easyJet can confirm that two aircraft made contact during pushback from stand, one of which was easyJet flight EJU8868 from Amsterdam to London Gatwick.

“Passengers have now disembarked into the terminal where they have been provided with updates and refreshment vouchers. The flight is now due to be operated by a replacement aircraft.

“The safety of its passengers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority and an investigation has been launched in line with procedure to understand what happened.”

A KLM spokesperson said: “This morning a KLM Boeing 737-800 was ready to leave for Madrid when it collided with another aircraft during the push-back of the gate. No passengers were injured. The KLM passengers left for Madrid in another aircraft with an approximate 2.5 hour delay. The situation is currently under investigation.”

“The safety of its customers and crew is KLM’s absolute priority.”

It’s not the first time that two aircraft have collided at the airport.

In April, two planes hit each other during foggy weather at East Midlands airport.

A Ryanair plane clipped a stationary Jet2 aircraft while it was taxiing to the stand at the Derbyshire airport. No passengers were onboard either aircraft at the time of the incident and no-one was injured.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in