Astonishing footage has emerged showing airport staff pushing a 36-tonne plane packed full of passengers after a technical fault.
The
90-seater Iberian Airlines jet, bound for the port of Vigo in Spain,
had been stranded on the tarmac for about an hour after the terminal's
tug truck that pushes it to the runway stopped operating.
In the footage, posted on YouTube
, 11 workers at Rome's Fiumicino Airport could be seen physically
pushing the Bombardier CRJ900 series jet backwards from its wheels while
others gave orders.
The plane, full of people and their luggage, is reversed towards the
runway after Air Traffic Control granted staff permission to carry out
the manoeuvre, Local.fr reported.
The newspaper added that a jet fully loaded with passengers and their bags can weigh as much as 36 tonnes.
Most commercial jets can reverse from the gate unaided but the
operation is considered 'too fuel-intensive' so small tugs are used to
push the planes to the runway for takeoff, the report adds.
The aircraft was due to take-off at 3.10pm on Sunday and eventually managed to start its journey at 4.30pm.
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