UPDATE | Johannesburg to Cape Town Airlink flight aborts take-off after tyre bursts

An Airlink flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town was forced to abort its take-off on Sunday afternoon after suffering a tyre burst during its take-off roll.

Airlink confirmed that flight 4Z 951 experienced the incident while preparing to depart, prompting the pilots to stop the aircraft on the runway in accordance with standard procedures.

The aircraft, an Embraer E190, had 75 passengers and crew members on board.

Passengers to be transferred to replacement aircraft

Airlink said buses and mobile stairs had been dispatched to the aircraft to transfer passengers to a replacement plane.

The incident has caused delays and disruption for travellers booked on the Johannesburg-to-Cape Town service.

Airlink apologises for disruption

The airline apologised to affected passengers for the delay and inconvenience caused by the incident.

“In line with standard procedures the pilots aborted the take-off and stopped the aircraft on the runway,” Airlink said in correspondence with The South African website.

The airline did not provide further details about the cause of the tyre burst in its statement.