A flight from Eindhoven to Budapest had to be abandoned on take-off after a collision with a bird caused the plane’s tyres to burst.

The Airbus A320 operated by WizzAir had to make an emergency stop on the runway on Sunday evening, causing its brakes to overheat. Fire and ambulance crews were put on standby and all 178 passengers had to disembark. Nobody was injured.

Passenger Erik van Balen said there was little panic on board when the plane suddenly stopped. ‘I heard the tyres screech but I didn’t notice that two tyres had blown,’ he told Omroep Brabant.

‘We had to leave our bags on the plane. I just took my personal belongings with me. We walked down the steps and that was when we saw the two punctured tyres.’

One incoming flight from Valencia was diverted to Rotterdam, but otherwise air traffic was unaffected, a spokesperson for the airport said.