A hole discovered in one of the runways at Manchester Airport on 19 September 2026 forced a closure lasting about two hours. The closure disrupted flight schedules, with three Manchester-bound flights from Antalya, Pisa, and Rhodes being diverted to Liverpool Airport.
Flight Delays, Diversions and Passenger Advisories
Flight delays at Manchester Airport currently average around fifty minutes due to the runway disruption. The affected diverted flights include Pegasus Airlines flight XQ592 from Antalya, and flights LS884 from Pisa and LS802 from Rhodes. Additionally, Pegasus Airlines flight PC7281 from Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport was diverted to Stansted Airport. Passengers are advised to check flight statuses before traveling
to the airport because knock-on delays continue despite the runway reopening.
Official Responses and Actions Taken
A Manchester Airport spokesperson confirmed, “One of our runways closed for a short period today to allow routine maintenance to take place.” Pegasus Airlines stated that flight PC7281 from Istanbul to Manchester was diverted to Stansted due to the closure and that a new flight will be scheduled to reduce delay impacts.
Background on Previous Runway Incident
This runway disruption follows an earlier incident on 31 August 2026, when a hole was found at the Delta Zulu crossing point on a Manchester runway. That previous defect caused a lengthy delay lasting several hours over
the August bank holiday weekend.
Aviation News UK reported that the Manchester runway has since reopened but said, “knock-on delays remain at Manchester.” Travel information service Inrix confirmed average delays of fifty minutes for flights departing or arriving at Manchester Airport.
