An aircraft carrying Manchester City staff and media to a Champions League match was evacuated before take-off after reports of smoke in the cabin.
Passengers were ordered to leave the chartered plane as it was being prepared to fly from the airport to Romania on Monday ahead of the tie between City and Steaua Bucharest.
A spokesman for Manchester Airport said: "It appears that there was a smell of smoke in the cabin after (the passengers) boarded, so they have been taken back to the departure lounge."
The flight was operated by Romania-based charter airline Carpatair, who said the passengers were told to disembark when steam was released into the cabin due to condensation in the air conditioning unit.