FLIGHTS WERE TEMPORARILY suspended at Stansted airport yesterday evening after an aborted takeoff by a plane. 

London Stansted Airport said at about 8pm that flights had been suspended due to an aircraft on the runway. 

The airport said that the aircraft had aborted its take off due to a suspected engine problem. 

“Emergency services attended and all passengers were evacuated from the aircraft as a precaution and have now been taken back to the terminal,” the airport said in a statement. 

The plane was due to fly to Vienna. 

Later, the airport said that the plane had been removed from the runway and that a full inspection was underway. 

“The safety of our passengers is always our top priority and we’re working closely with out airlines to ensure affected passengers are looked after,” the airport said. 

The Guardian reports that a passenger on the plane, Thomas Steer, a 24-year-old estate agent, said it had been accelerating for about 15 seconds before there was a “big bang on the side of the aircraft, which skidded to a stop”.

“It was scary. And then staff shouting: ‘Evacuate, evacuate.’ My friend opened the emergency exit and we slid down the slides,” he said.

A few old people fell over and the fire brigade treated them.

The aircraft was cleared from the runway and flights resumed at about 10.30pm.