Spain’s Mallorca airport shuts down after passengers run off plane

Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Flights to and from Spain’s busy Palma de Mallorca Airport were paralyzed late Friday after a group of passengers reportedly escaped from an airplane.

Police sources told leading Spanish media that an airplane flying from Morocco to Turkey made an emergency medical landing on the Spanish island at around 8.30 p.m. local time.

After the plane landed, a group of around 15 people managed to get off the plane and run across the tarmac.

More than two hours later, Spanish police continued to search for the passengers.

Flights are being delayed, canceled or re-routed to places like Ibiza or Barcelona, according to Spain’s air traffic controllers’ organization.

The group tweeted that it was highly likely that the airport will not begin operating until Saturday morning.

The airport falls only behind Madrid and Barcelona for the most air traffic in Spain, according to Statista.