The Boeing 757, en route from Glasgow to Tenerife, had to make an emergency landing at Manchester after the captain reported problems with the left engine.
It landed safely but problems with the brakes meant it could not taxi off the runway.
The 246 passengers were evacuated and taken by coach to the terminal building.
Planes diverted
An airport spokesman said engineers had succeeded in releasing the brakes so the airport could be reopened.
Eight outbound flights were delayed by the closure and 15 inbound flights diverted - although some of these were later able to go through the airport.
The spokesman said: "Luckily this happened during a lull. In the evening time you get a little bit of a lull when the teatime charter flights have gone out and it gets less busy as the night goes on."
Passengers from the stricken plane, which was operated by Airtours, were taken to a different aircraft.
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