EasyJet flight takes off from wrong point of Luton Airport runway

The aircraft's weight meant it should have used the full length of London Luton Airport's runway, said the Air Accidents Investigation Branch. An EasyJet flight was just 65ft (19m) above the ground when it cleared the runway during a take-off last year. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said the Airbus A320-214, departed from further down the runway at London Luton Airport than the crew had planned. Flight EZY2335, which had 180 passengers and six crew members on board, landed at Málaga Costa del Sol Airport on 13 June 2025, and returned to Luton Airport later that day before the captain realised they had made a mistake with their "take-off point", the report said. A spokesperson for the airline said: "We are aware of the report and fully assisted the AAIB with its investigation." EasyJet has conducted a review of its take-off operating procedures following the incident. Last month, it was revealed another aircraft had cleared the runway by just 13ft (4m) at Luton Airport, after taking off from the wrong place on 22 April 2025. Investigators said the pilot and captain may have been busy completing other tasks before departure. The AAIB said during the crew's pre-flight planning, the co-pilot initially planned to take off from a point on the runway called Intersection Alpha. However, he noted they did not have the take-off performance, given the aircraft's higher-than-normal weight and the environmental conditions at the time, and this was checked and confirmed by the captain. They therefore agreed to do a calculation using the full-length of Luton Airport's runway, which permitted take-off. Three preceding aircraft departed from Intersection Alpha but "an opportunity was missed to highlight [to Air Traffic Control] the requirement to take-off from the lesser used full-length [position]", the report said. The plane took off without incident despite its power settings not being adjusted. The AAIB said opportunities to take off from the correct point on the runway were missed "probably by a combination of the crews' habitual behaviour and confirmation bias". It was also noted the captain and co-pilot may have been busy completing other tasks before departure. The EasyJet spokesperson added: "[Our] pilots are trained to the highest industry standards and the safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is EasyJet's highest priority."