Plane gets stuck on runway for hours causing headache for travelers at Jackson airport

JACKSON, MS (WLBT) - The Jackson Medgar-Wiley Evers International Airport is back open after a temporary closure left incoming and outgoing flights delayed and diverted.

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A flat tire is the reason flight after flight was cancelled, delayed or diverted. An Embrey Air 505 private business jet out of Columbus, Mississippi landed just after 1 pm and blew a tire on the airport’s only operating runway.

This afternoon, all incoming and outgoing Delta, American and United flights were delayed or... — This afternoon, all incoming and outgoing Delta, American and United flights were delayed or diverted to various airports including Dallas, Monroe and Charlotte. Source: WLBT

The company that built the aircraft had to send a specialized crew with specialized tools to fix the plane and get it off the runway.

Passengers say that message was not conveyed to them for some time.

“And after a few 'we’re delayed we’re delayed’ and not a lot of communication, we were finally told there’s a plane stuck on the runway and they can’t get it off the runway,” said one passenger.

Once the crew arrived, about 3 hours after the landing, it took them less than an hour to repair the plane and it was able to taxi off of the runway. Flights resumed almost immediately.

Airport officials say the ripple effect from today’s delay could last about 48 hours, but they hope to have everything back on schedule by Saturday.

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