Birmingham Airport has closed until at least 6pm today after a private aircraft heading to Belfast was forced to make an emergency landing.

All departures and arrivals at the hub were halted after the twin-engine Beech B200 Super King Air plane declared an in-flight emergency and diverted to Birmingham.

Emergency crews headed to the runway to assist those on board the plane, which is operated by Belfast-based private charter operator Woodgate Aviation.

The plane, registered G-NIAA, was built in 1981 and is owned by a firm called Blue Sky Investments on the Isle of Man, according to Civil Aviation Authority records.

The Beech B200 Super King Air is the same aircraft model involved in the fireball crash at London Southend Airport on July 13 which killed four people onboard.

A Birmingham Airport spokesman said at 2.40pm: 'Following an aircraft incident, the runway is temporarily closed. We apologize for the inconvenience this will cause.

'We will keep passengers already at the airport informed, and those due to travel later today are advised to check the status of their flight before coming to the airport. 'We will continue to issue updates when we can.'

Birmingham is the UK's seventh-largest airport in the UK and handled about 13million passengers last year, with over 130 direct routes offered by 30 airlines.