A TUI Airways flight from Cardiff to Paphos returned safely to Cardiff Airport on Wednesday after a bird strike shortly after takeoff caused flames to be seen from one engine. The aircraft landed without injury to passengers or crew, and the airport later reopened the runway and restored normal operations after the disruption.
The affected service, TOM5TN, had departed for Cyprus before crew turned back to Cardiff as a precaution. Airport fire and rescue teams attended the scene, while the runway reopened at 15:22 local time and the rescheduled Paphos departure operated the following day. The incident highlights the operational risk posed by bird strikes during initial climb, when aircraft are most vulnerable and immediate recovery procedures can be critical.
Visible engine flames prompted the return, but the flight ended without further escalation and no injuries were reported. The aircraft landed at about 14:52, limiting the disruption to a short suspension of runway operations before traffic resumed.