A Jet2 aircraft veered onto the grass beside the runway at Birmingham Airport on Sunday, October 25, as powerful winds from Storm Boelo caused landing difficulties, diversions and cancellations at airports across the UK.
Footage circulating online shows the aircraft moving towards the edge of the runway shortly after touchdown, apparently leaving the paved surface before returning to it.
The incident came as pilots at several other airports were forced to abandon landing approaches or divert because of the challenging weather conditions.
Incidente en Aeropuerto de Birmingham.
Un Boeing 737-800 de Jet2 salió de pista momentáneamente durante el aterrizaje en Pista 33, hoy domingo a las 14:19 hora local (según Flightradar24).
La aeronave cubría el vuelo LS1310, entre Venecia (Italia) y Birmingham (Inglaterra).
Al momento del aterrizaje, el viento era cruzado respecto a la orientación de la pista (280/19G32), con ráfagas de 59 km/h.
(📹 créditos al autor)
— GaboAir (@GaboAir) October 25, 2026
EWN previously reported a similar incident when a Lufthansa flight diverted to Alicante during Storm Leonardo after abandoning its approach to Malaga.
Flights struggle to land as Storm Boelo hits
At Edinburgh Airport, footage showed an Air France aircraft arriving from Paris rocking in strong winds before the pilot abandoned the landing and climbed away.
Other disrupted services included an easyJet flight from Bristol, which diverted to Newcastle, and a Ryanair flight from Tirana that diverted to Brussels. EasyJet flights from Lisbon and Bristol were also among those reported to have struggled to land.
Leeds Bradford Airport was also affected, with several arriving flights diverted on Sunday morning, according to ITV News coverage of flights diverted from Leeds Bradford Airport.
These included easyJet services from Malaga and Palma de Mallorca, as well as flights from Dublin, London Stansted, Krakow and Gdansk. Services from Dublin and Belfast City were among those cancelled.
The airport, which sits 208 metres above sea level, is particularly exposed to strong winds. Passengers were advised to check their flight status before travelling.
Ryanair flight from Dublin ends up in Alicante
One of the most unusual diversions involved Ryanair flight FR2955, which was scheduled to travel from Dublin to Bristol, according to aviation news website AirLive.
Ryanair flight from Dublin to Bristol diverted to… Spain https://t.co/DpWPBDARez
— AIRLIVE (@airlivenet) October 25, 2026
The Boeing 737-800 abandoned its approach to Bristol late on Saturday, October 24, before eventually landing at Alicante-Elche Airport in Spain at around 2.15am on Sunday.
The aircraft had already been diverted to Dublin earlier that day after it was unable to land at Newquay while operating a flight from Alicante.
AirLive reported that the decision to return the aircraft to Alicante followed the disruption to its schedule and difficulties operating at UK airports. The unusual routing meant a flight intended to connect Ireland with southwest England ended up in Spain. Well, there are worse unexpected destinations.
Strong winds force pilots to take action
Storm Boelo brought gusts of 60 to 70mph across areas covered by Met Office amber weather warnings, with gusts exceeding 80mph possible in exposed coastal locations.
Strong crosswinds can make it harder for pilots to keep an aircraft aligned with a runway, while sudden changes in wind speed or direction can destabilise an approach.
Pilots are trained to abandon a landing when conditions are unsuitable. A go-around is a standard safety procedure, while a diversion allows an aircraft to land at an alternative airport.
The disruption affected flights across Scotland, northern England and other parts of the British Isles, with airlines advising passengers to check for updates before setting off. Passengers travelling with Jet2 should check Jet2’s latest travel information before heading to the airport.