Plane crashes at Swiss airport in front of BA flight
Flights to and from Basel airport were halted for several hours yesterday after a light aircraft crashed as a British Airways’ plane was waiting to take off.
One person is believed to have died when the Piper PA-34 aircraft burst into flames after it crashed in heavy fog at Basel airport at 5.41 pm.
Reports said the private plane had aborted an attempted landing on the runway and instead flown around, before crashing.
The pilot of a British Airways’ Airbus A320 told the control tower he had seen the light aircraft cross his path, and the controller confirmed the aircraft was ‘flying very low’.
No-one on flight BA749, which was carrying Arsenal fans back from a game in Basel, was injured.
The main runway at Basel airport was closed until shortly after 9pm, causing several flights to be delayed while others were diverted to Zurich.
BA749 was forced to overnight in Switzerland and a return flight from Heathrow was cancelled.
In a statement, BA said: "We are looking after customers and re-booking them on to alternative flights."
EasyJet also warned passengers of delays to its flight from Basel to Gatwick last night.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025