Two planes skid off icy airport runway in western China, airline staff removed

Two passenger planes skidded off an icy runway just before take-off at an airport in western China on Tuesday. No one was hurt in the two separate incidents at Urumqi Diwobao International Airport in Urumqi, Xinjiang, China News Service reported. The first incident occurred at 9.33am, when Shanghai Airlines’ flight FM9220 bound for Shanghai veered off the runway while making a turn. About forty minutes later, Shenzhen Airlines’ flight ZH9240 bound for Shenzhen slid off the taxiway. The civil aviation authority’s Urumqi branch said no one was injured in either accident and both planes also did not suffer damage. Airport operations were briefly affected. The airport is investigating the incidents.<br/>