Landing Jet Comes Within 10 Feet of EasyJet Plane at Nice Airport

An easyJet flight preparing to depart Nice Côte d’Azur Airport in France on the evening of Sept. 21 was canceled after another passenger jet descended dangerously close to it, prompting a full safety investigation by French authorities.

According to easyJet, Flight 4706—a U.K.-registered Airbus A320-214 bound for Nantes Atlantique Airport—was holding on the runway awaiting takeoff clearance when an arriving Airbus A320-214 operated by Tunisian carrier Nouvelair came within an estimated 10 feet overhead. Passengers onboard reported “strong vibrations” as the aircraft passed directly above them.

Flight-tracking platform Flightradar24 showed the Nouvelair jet arriving from Tunis, Tunisia, at approximately 10:10 p.m. local time. While all inbound flights had been assigned Runway 04L that night, data indicates the Nouvelair aircraft initially lined up on Runway 04R, which was only being used for departures. Air traffic control immediately instructed the crew to execute a go-around, and the plane later landed safely at 11:49 p.m., FlightAware data shows.

EasyJet confirmed the incident delayed its flight until the following day “due to a non-easyJet aircraft incident.” “The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority, and in line with procedures, we are fully cooperating with the safety investigation that has been launched in order to understand what happened,” the airline said in a statement to USA TODAY.

The Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA), France’s air accident investigation agency, has opened a formal inquiry and dispatched four investigators to Nice Côte d’Azur Airport to gather evidence on the near miss. Nouvelair has not yet responded to media requests for comment.

This incident underscores how quickly runway and approach misalignments can escalate into high-risk situations at busy airports—and why strict air traffic control protocols and rapid go-around procedures are critical to maintaining safety.


Related News: https://airguide.info/?s=easyJet, https://airguide.info/category/air-travel-business/travel-health-security/

Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, usatoday.com