An incident has come to light involving a Vueling aircraft landing on a runway at Palma de Mallorca that was already occupied by another aircraft. Violations like these have been reported multiple times in airports across the world, with regulatory bodies taking action and suggesting ways to reduce such occurrences.
A320 lands on an occupied runway
On October 11, an Airbus A320 aircraft belonging to Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling reportedly landed on a runway already occupied by an aircraft. The incident took place at Palma de Mallorca Airport (PMI) in Spain.
According to The Aviation Herald, flight VY-3154 originated from Jerez Airport in Spain. According to Flightradar24, it is a daily scheduled service with a departure time of 11:55 and an arrival time of 13:30. The journey typically lasts about an hour and fifteen minutes on average.
Photo: Robert Buchel | Shutterstock
The aircraft involved in the incident is registered EC-MGE. It is a 9.5-year-old Airbus A320-200 that was delivered to Vueling in 2015. Per ch-aviation, it had accumulated more than 23,500 hours across 14,989 flight cycles as of August 31, 2024.
Investigation underway
The Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission (CIAIAC), a division of Spain’s Ministry of Public Works and Transport, is investigating the incident. It says that the A320 landed on the runway before the preceding aircraft, a business jet, exited it. The Aviation Herald quotes CIAIAC as saying,
(the business jet)
“had not left runway 24L at Palma de Mallorca Airport when the AIRBUS A320 aircraft, registered EC-MGE and operated by Vueling, flew over the threshold of this runway. After a few brief moments in which both coincided on the same landing strip, the first one left through the nearest exit (specifically, S1) and the second continued with the landing without further incidents.”
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
The official website of Spain’s Ministry of Transport describes the role of CIAIAC as follows:
“The Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission is the body responsible for the technical investigation of accidents and works with functional and organic independence from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. It is worth highlighting the work carried out by the Office for Assistance to Victims of Civil Aviation Accidents and Their Families, which permanently addresses the needs of victims of civil aviation accidents.”
It remains to be seen what the agency finds in its report following a thorough investigation.
Other close calls
This isn’t the first time an incident like this has occurred. Several other similar instances of close calls have taken place across the world. One of the most talked-about incidents happened earlier this year at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, India, involving two IndiGo and Air India airplanes.
A video circulating online showed an IndiGo A320 touching down on the runway moments after an Air India A320 took off, violating the minimum separation rule between two aircraft. The Mumbai ATC staff involved in the incident was suspended.
In 2020, a United Airlines Boeing 787-10 was cleared to land on a runway in Paris that was already occupied by an easyJet A320 that was preparing for a flight to Spain. Simple Flying has covered this incident in the article below.
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What Caused A United 787-10 To Be Cleared For An Occupied Paris Runway?
In July of 2020, a United Airlines 787-10 had a near-miss in Paris when ATC cleared the aircraft to land on an occupied runway.
