Holidaymakers faced a frightening start to their Christmas getaway after a Ryanair aircraft made contact with a fuel tanker on the tarmac at Edinburgh Airport.
'Scary' moment on the tarmac
The incident occurred on the morning of Monday, 22 December 2025, as flight FR5667 to Faro, Portugal, was preparing for departure. The Boeing 737 Max was taxiing from the terminal when its wing tip came into contact with the cab of the refuelling vehicle.
One passenger described the moment to The Scottish Sun, saying the plane had just begun to move when it 'crashed into the fuel tank,' calling the experience 'scary.' They added, 'Thankfully, we weren't going at a fast speed.'
Precautionary evacuation and airport response
As a safety measure, all passengers were evacuated from the aircraft and taken back to the terminal. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service was alerted at 10.04am and initially mobilised six appliances as a precaution.
Most resources were quickly stood down, with only one fire appliance required to attend the scene to liaise with airport officials. The airport's own fire brigade was also stood down after approximately five minutes.
No injuries were reported as a result of the collision. A routine inspection of the aircraft was carried out following the evacuation.
Flight disruption and operator statement
According to data from Flightradar24, the flight was originally scheduled to depart at 10.05am. Following the incident and inspection, it was estimated to leave around 12.25pm.
A Ryanair spokesperson confirmed that a replacement aircraft was arranged to operate the flight to Faro. They stated: 'Passengers disembarked normally and a replacement aircraft was arranged to operate this flight to Faro.'
It is understood the replacement plane departed for Portugal with passengers on board roughly two hours after the initial incident. Edinburgh Airport confirmed that the event had no significant impact on overall airport operations.
This incident follows another disruption at the airport earlier in the month, when flights were grounded due to a local IT glitch affecting air traffic control services.
