Airport staff 'push-start' 36 tonne plane packed with passengers

Footage has emerged showing the moment airport staff were forced to push a plane packed with passengers.

The Iberian Airlines plane had been stuck on the tarmac at Rome's Fiumicino Airport for around an hour after the terminal's tug truck that pushes it to the runway stopped working, reports the Daily Mail.


See also: Plane passengers get out and push after landing gear freezes

See also: Passengers stuck on plane for four hours in 25C heat


Air Traffic Control finally granted permission for 11 workers to push the plane to take off.

The Local reports that most commercial jets can reverse from the gate unaided, but that this move is considered too 'fuel-intensive'.

The aircraft was due to take off for the port of Vigo in Spain at 3.10pm on Sunday and eventually managed to start the service at 4.30pm, reports the Mirror.

Back in 2014, when a plane's landing gear froze over in Russia, hardy passengers got out and pushed.

The passengers - and the plane - became stuck in Igarka, a remote Siberian town in the Arctic Circle, and were first asked to exit the plane so it could break free from the ice.

The plane was operated by Katekavia, a subsidiary of Utair, one of Russia's biggest airlines.

The Metro reports that a spokeswoman from Utair said: "The passengers disembarked to lighten the weight, and then they volunteered to move it."