United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
Fire crews spray wrong plane with foam at Chinese airport
Firefighters at a Chinese airport have been commended for their speedy action after reports of a plane on fire on the tarmac, but mistakenly sprayed the wrong aircraft with foam.
The bizarre incident caused a partial shutdown at Fuzhou airport, delaying 30 flights.
An Air China Boeing 737-800 reported problems with one of its engines and fire crews raced to the scene.
The plane’s engines were switched off but a nearby Fuzhou Airlines 737-800 also on the taxiway readying for take-off had visible exhaust fumes showing and was sprayed mistakenly by fire trucks.
Firefighters were quickly alerted to the error by airport officials.
However the damage had been done and the Fuzhou Airlines plane was heavily delayed while it underwent a safety check.
The Fuzhou aircraft was the same Boeing 737 model as the Air China plane; no casualties were reported, an airport statement said.
Eight fire trucks had reached the scene within four minutes, the airport said, and after realising the error, ‘quickly turned their attention to the correct plane, but the other one with passengers aboard was delayed 10 hours and the entire incident delayed 30 flights’.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
Walt Leger on New Orleans’ Resilience and Major Events Ahead
Cindy Mackin Shares Estes Park’s Winter Thrills
Mark Jaronski of Explore Georgia on FIFA World Cup 2026
Connecting Small Businesses to Global Tourism Markets: Nate Huff of Tourism Exchange
North Carolina’s Resilience: Wit Tuttell on Recovery and Tourism
Kittipong Prapattong’s Plan for Thailand’s Tourism Growth: Taxes, Visas, and Campaigns
James Jin: Didatravel’s Journey from China to Global Reach and the Impact of AI on Travel
Darien Schaefer on Pensacola’s Evolution: From Small Town to Global Destination
Florida Tourism’s Next Frontier: Dana Young on Expanding Beyond the Classics
Patrick Harrison on Tampa Bay Tourism’s Resilience and Marketing Strategy
Bubba O’Keefe on Clarksdale’s Vibrant Music Scene
Commemorating Elvis and Embracing Tupelo’s Culture with Jennie Bradford Curlee
BA suspending all Heathrow to Abu Dhabi flights
Unexpected wave rocks cruise ship
Woman dies after going overboard in English Channel
Report: Cruise guest died after ship lashed in heavy storm
British teen in serious condition after paraglider collision