Travelers going through the San Diego International Airport on Wednesday evening likely hit a bit of a snag as the airport suddenly grounded all flights as a result of a sudden emergency that left one runway unusable.
While nobody was injured as a result of the emergency, the incident diverted dozens of flights and caused delays for hours.
Emergency Situation on the Runway
At around 6:40 p.m. on Wednesday evening, a private airplane’s nose gear collapsed on the runway at San Diego International Airport.
Nobody was injured in the incident, but with the plane disabled on the runway, the airport decided to ground all flights.
“The aircraft came to a stop without any injuries to those on board, however, it became disabled on the runway, causing the runway’s temporary closure,” airport officials said in a statement via the San Diego Union-Tribune. “All inbound flights are currently being diverted to other airports. We have no further details at this time.”
Flights Grounded For Hours
As a result of the incident, the airport canceled outbound flights and diverted inbound flights elsewhere for hours.
The incident was reported around 6:40 p.m., and the Federal Aviation Administration indicated that the airport’s closure would continue until at least midnight, meaning that flights were canceled, delayed, and diverted elsewhere for more than five hours on Wednesday night.
While the airport’s flight status tool on its website was not working Wednesday night, more than a dozen flights that had been scheduled to depart San Diego had been canceled as of 8 p.m., according to FlightAware, a flight tracking website.
Travelers Impacted by the Incident
With dozens of flights impacted by the closure, travelers spoke out about the delays they faced.
Laura Wingard, a San Diego resident, told the San Diego Union-Tribune that she and her husband had just departed on a flight from Eugene, Ore., on Wednesday when the plane got turned back to the airport due to the ground stop in San Diego.
They were then informed that the delay would last even longer.
“Almost as soon as we got seated, the captain comes back on and says, ‘I’m really sorry, they’ve now extended it until midnight,’” Wingard said. “The air escaped all of us at that point.”
Travelers took to social media to express their frustration, too.
“Nothing like flying over 5+ hours from Orlando only to then get re-routed to Palm Springs because the San Diego airport is closed,” one person wrote in a post on X.
“Plane in front of us nose gear CRUMBLED on takeoff…San Diego ONLY has one runway…we’re Stuck here,” someone else wrote.
“My flight was cancelled to @SanDiegoAirport due to a landing gear collapse of a private aircraft… So I am staying an extra day in Austin I guess…” another user added.
It’s not clear how long it will take to get the airport up and running again, but the closure has already impacted the travel plans for thousands of travelers.
