It's not very often that comic book character Peppa Pig greets a landing plane on the runways. Luckily, because in Manchester an accident almost happened when a balloon in the shape of this figure got lost on the runway.

A Jet2 airline pilot reported after the successful landing that he had seen a very large Peppa Piga balloon on the runway. According to official information, this was about 1,5 meters tall and could have been dangerous for airplanes. The cockpit crew of this Jet2 flight saw the unwelcome obstacle in good time and reacted accordingly.

After the pilot's report, security forces from Manchester Airport went out to capture this huge balloon. That wasn't easy at all, because according to local media reports, he repeatedly set off on his own, so the mission lasted about 15 minutes. The entire area was then thoroughly checked again, because they wanted to rule out that there might be a second balloon lying around somewhere.

How this Peppa Pig balloon, which is believed to have been filled with helium some time ago, ended up on the runway is unclear. It is assumed that this could once have belonged to a child and that this may have lost its toy. The balloon then made its own journey and unfortunately landed on the airport site after the helium had been depleted. At the time of landing, the helium appears to have been at least strong enough to allow the Peppa Pig balloon to hover upright a few inches off the ground. Due to the size of 1,5 meters, this was clearly visible.