Summary

• Swiss investigators announced that an EasyJet Airbus A320 nearly collided with an airport vehicle during departure from Prishtina International Airport (PRN).
• The pilots stated that they flew over the vehicle with the landing gear extended.
• The A320 continued its journey to its destination without further incident.

Swiss investigators have announced that an EasyJet Boeing 737-800 almost collided with an airport vehicle while attempting to depart from Prishtina International Airport (PRN).

Car on the active runway

In a report dated 16 August, the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (SUST), the road accident investigation body in Switzerland, announced that a easyJet An A320 with the registration HB-JXF almost collided with a car on the runway at Prishtina International Airport.

According to the SUST, the EasyJet aircraft received clearance to take off from Kosovo Airport. At the same time, a car belonging to the airport was parked on the active runway threshold at the eastern end of runway 35.

After taking off, the A320 flew over the car at a sufficient altitude. The pilots noticed that the aircraft’s landing gear was still extended.

The STSB stated that the Aircraft Accidents and Incidents Investigation Commission of the Republic of Kosovo (Komisioni për Hetimin e Aksidenteve dhe Incidenteve Aeronautike, AAIIC) had investigated the event.

Fly to Geneva Airport

The incident occurred on 20 June at 17:08 local time (UTC +2). The EasyJet A320 was on flight U21496 from Kosovo airport to Geneva Airport (GVA), its fourth flight of the day.

Data from Flightradar24 showed that in the 60-second period between 5:08 p.m. and 5:09 p.m., the aircraft managed to climb from 1,650 feet (502.9 meters) to 3,000 feet (914.4 meters), with the flight tracking service unable to track the vehicle, which was at the edge of the runway.

Although the aircraft landed at Geneva Airport without further incident, it did not operate any further flights that day. It flew four and six flights respectively over the following two days, and on 22 June the A320 returned to Prishtina International Airport.

The Swiss investigators’ report on the incident did not indicate how many passengers or flight attendants were on board the flight. At the time of the incident, there were two pilots on the A320.

The STSB pointed out that although the aircraft belonged to the UK-registered airline EasyJet, it was operated by the Swiss-based airline EasyJet Switzerland. For this reason, Swiss investigators were involved in the incident.

On another occasion, an EasyJet Airbus A320neo with the registration G-UZLO was involved in another incident at GVA.

In January, the STSB announced that the aircraft on flight U23291 from Edinburgh Airport (EDI) to GVA on 5 November 2023 descended well below the glide path, forcing the crew to perform a go-around.

The SUST has been investigating the incident at the Swiss airport since its publication on January 16.

In a statement to Simple Flying at the time, easyJet stressed that the safety of passengers or crew members was not at risk.

Shortly after the incident, the pilots were given a short layoff, consistent with the low-cost airline’s policy. They were not suspended.