Three flights were stranded on the tarmac for hours (Picture: Chris Brereton/MEN Media)

A pregnant woman ‘collapsed’ as hundreds of passengers were stuck on a plane for six hours at Manchester Airport.

An issue with a Cathay Pacific flight, destined for Hong Kong, had resulted in two planes becoming stranded behind it on December 15.

It left passengers aboard a Brussels Airlines flight to Brussels and a TUI flight to Cabo Verde stuck.

Chris Brereton, who was heading to Belgium, said a pregnant woman ‘collapsed’ on his flight.

He chose to stay on board the flight to enjoy his holiday in Bruges, with the plane eventually taking off for Brussels just after 8pm.

Mr Brereton told Manchester Evening News: ‘The poor pregnant lady collapsed and two people on board stepped up to help her. This was after hours of being sat on the tarmac behind the broken plane.

‘The captain kept saying ‘they’re coming to get you soon’ but it just never happened. The lady then collapsed at the front of the plane and thank god there were trained people on board who knew what they were doing.

‘It’s an unbelievable credit to everybody on board that it stayed so calm and civilised because it could easily have kicked off.’

Chris Brereton, a passenger on board a Brussels Airlines flight, said he witnessed a woman collapse (Picture: Chris Brereton/MEN Media)

Cathay Pacific later issued an apology and confirmed that the affected plane is being inspected by engineers.

One passenger aboard the Brussels Airlines flight claimed they were only offered water during a six-hour wait.

The plane was eventually towed back to the terminal, with travellers given the option to stay on board or disembark and find alternate travel.

Manchester Airport has since said that ‘all necessary procedures’ were carried out to ensure the safety of passengers.

Other passengers claimed they had only been offered water during the wait (Picture: Chris Brereton/MEN Media)

Brussels Airlines confirmed that a pregnant woman needed medical assistance on board after the flight had become blocked.

They added that the plane was not able to get towed back to the terminal due to ‘safety regulations.’

A Brussels Airlines spokesperson said: ‘As mentioned before, a Cathay Pacific aircraft was blocking the runway due to technical issues which meant our aircraft OOSND (flight SN2174) was also blocked for several hours on the Manchester runway. Due to UK Safety Regulations it wasn’t possible to get towed back to the terminal.

‘Despite the difficult situation, we did our utmost best to find solutions for all our passengers. The passengers with connecting flights, were rebooked on other flights. Only the ones having Brussels as final destination, left with our own flight to Brussels in the evening.’

The spokesperson added: ‘There was indeed a pregnant passenger on board who needed medical assistance. The paramedics attended to her on board and later in the ambulance parked in front of the aircraft.’

A spokesperson for Manchester Airport said: ‘We regret any disruption caused to passengers as a result of this incident, caused by a technical issue with a Cathay Pacific aircraft.

‘The safety of everyone on our site is a top priority and all necessary procedures were followed to ensure the safety of passengers, aircraft and the surrounding airfield operation.

‘This meant people onboard the affected aircraft faced delays as the appointed ground handlers of the airlines concerned ensured they could safely deploy the necessary equipment on the airfield to resolve the issue.’

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One passenger aboard the Brussels Airlines flight claimed they were only offered water during the wait.