Etihad plane veers off Abu Dhabi runway in fog

A Dublin-bound Etihad plane veered off the southbound runway in dense fog at Abu Dhabi International Airport yesterday, damaging tarmac lights.

The runway was shut down for six hours following the incident which occurred as the plane prepared to take off in the mist at 3:19am. Hundreds of flights out of the emirate were delayed and at least 35 cancelled. 

None of the 208 passengers and crew on the Airbus A330-200 were injured, but there was damage to the airport tyres. 

Passengers on the on the EY045 flight disembarked and were sent to nearby hotels. 

The north runway handledall flight departure and arrivals until the runway resumed operatons at 9:10am. 

Etihad apologised to inconvenienced passengers and said it was working with local authorities to investigate the circumstances of the incident, but the fog was suspected to be a contributory factor.
 

"The airport resumed normal operations this morning [January31], with expected delays in some flight departures,"  Ahmad Al Haddabi, chief operating officer at Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) told local newspaper The National.