HUNDREDS of passengers were left stranded after the runway at a major airport was shut - because of a giant 4ft long pothole.
Eight flights were either cancelled, rescheduled, or diverted amid the chaos at Newcastle Airport on Wednesday night.
They included jets flown by British Airways, Jet2, EasyJet, Ryanair and TUI.
Passenger Nick Allen, 27, was on board an 8.40pm BA flight to London waiting to take-off when it turned back to the terminal.
He said: "Everything was fine to begin with. We got on the plane and it taxied out to the runway.
"But we never accelerated. The plane just rolled back towards the stand.
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"The pilot announced that the Air Traffic Control had found a defect on the runway.
"They were told that they were clear to take-off at their own discretion which essentially means they are legally liable if something goes wrong.
"They were unwilling to take the risk so the flight was cancelled.
"We've got potholes all over the roads, on the railways and now even on runways."
The Newcastle-based environmental researcher, who was heading to the capital for a job interview, added: "The pilot said it was the most British thing he'd ever heard."
Nick was rebooked on another flight.
Other flights from Poland, Tenerife and Cyprus were among those impacted by the pothole.
Today an airport spokesman said: "Our runway was closed for a short period last night while a defect was inspected.
"This was completed as quickly as possible and the runway reopened.
"Unfortunately as a result, five inbound flights opted to divert during the short closure and three outbound flights were cancelled or rescheduled.
"Flights are now operating as normal and we apologise to any passengers affected."