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Affected Eurowings aircraft on the runway at Hamburg Airport

Photo: Steven Hutchings / dpa

It was a three and a half thousand kilometer journey that ended with a moment of shock. After four and a half hours of travel, flight EW6004 from the holiday island of Gran Canaria landed at Hamburg Airport shortly before 3 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. (You can follow the course of the flight here on the “Flightradar24” website.) However, two tires on the Airbus A320 were damaged, as the airline Eurowings confirmed in response to a SPIEGEL request. The “Hamburger Abendblatt” initially reported on the incident.

Eurowings said the jet with the registration D-AEWN came to a safe stop after touching down on the runway. All 180 passengers and 6 crew members left the aircraft normally via the stairs and were taken to the terminal by bus. The guests were welcomed and looked after there.

“At no time is there any danger on board”

It is not yet known why the two tires burst. The Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation is likely to look into the case. A picture on the Aviation Herald website showed the plane and the emergency vehicles on the runway, another photo showed the destroyed tires on the main landing gear. According to Eurowings, “there was never any danger on board.” The company said it was sorry for the inconvenience. The safety of guests and crew is “top priority at all times.”

The aircraft is currently being examined by technical staff, Eurowings said. Preparations are being made to tow the Airbus from the runway. However, the jet initially blocked runway 15/33. Hamburg Airport explained that air traffic was stopped for around 30 minutes due to the fire brigade operation after the Eurowings plane landed. Air traffic is now running according to plan again. Hamburg Airport has two runways.

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