PASSENGERS waiting to take off from a Scottish airport were left “panicked” as emergency crews came on board minutes before it was due to take off.
The flight was set to head to Tenerife from Edinburgh Airport before its departure was halted as the plane was surrounded by fire crews on Saturday afternoon.
Three fire engines raced to the aircraft as it sat on the tarmac and “pointed water cannons” at the plane, one traveller told the Daily Record.
The passenger told how she was left “scared” as everyone was told to disembark due to a technical issue.
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It was later discovered the issue was a fuel leak and the plane was unable to take off during its 1.10pm slot on Saturday afternoon.
Passengers were then taken to another flight which departed around 3pm.
Lisa Conway, 32, was going on holiday with her partner David Smith when the incident occurred.
She said: “People on the plane were panicking in case the plane went on fire with water cannons pointed at it.
“We were then packed onto buses and we couldn’t get off as they had to move crew and ground staff and secure the fuel leak.
“First time I’ve experienced anything like that – it was scary.”
Ryanair also confirmed to the Daily Record that staff carried out standard procedures and fire crews were called as a precaution.
A spokesperson said: “This flight from Edinburgh to Tenerife (Feb 17) was delayed ahead of take-off due to a minor tech issue with the aircraft.
“The aircraft remained on stand, passengers were disembarked and the aircraft was taken for inspection by engineers, who cleared the aircraft to return to service later that night.
“To minimise disruption to passengers, a replacement aircraft was quickly arranged to operate this flight, departing Edinburgh approximately one hour and 40 minutes later.
“We sincerely apologise for this delay.”
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