China Eastern says sorry for boarding bridge collision at Shanghai airport

Airline blames incident on mechanical malfunction after landing, says all passengers are safe

China Eastern Airlines apologised to passengers on Saturday after one of its aircraft struck a boarding bridge on arrival at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport.

The Shanghai-based airline said “a mechanical malfunction occurred” as the flight from Chengdu was taxiing slowly towards its gate and the aircraft hit the bridge.

The collision was minor and all passengers on board the aircraft were safe, it said.

“The flight crew immediately handled it according to established procedures,” China Eastern said, adding that passengers disembarked in an orderly manner.

“The cause of this incident is currently under investigation. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience it may have caused to passengers’ travel.”

According to Trip.com’s flight tracker, the plane, an Airbus A350-900 widebody aircraft, had been in service for four years and three months.