BRUSSELS

A Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) passenger aircraft aborted its takeoff at Brussels Airport after mistakenly attempting to depart from a taxiway instead of a runway, broadcaster VRT reported on Friday.

The Airbus A320neo, carrying 165 passengers and scheduled to fly to Copenhagen at around 8.30 pm local time (1930 CEST) Thursday night, accelerated to speeds of up to 220 kilometers per hour (137 miles per hour) before the takeoff was safely halted.

No injuries were reported.

"All indications show that the aircraft attempted to take off from a taxiway rather than the designated runway," said Brussels Airport spokesperson Ariane Goossens.

Taxiways are used exclusively for moving aircraft between terminals and runways.

The plane came to a stop near fuel storage tanks, prompting an immediate response from airport fire services and emergency teams.

Passengers were evacuated as a precaution, while airport officials said the incident did not disrupt other flights and would not affect operations on Friday morning.

Aviation expert Luc De Wilde described the incident as "highly unusual" and warned that it could have had fatal consequences.

It remains unclear whether the cockpit crew realized the error themselves or were alerted by air traffic control.

Belgian aviation authorities have launched an investigation into the incident, which is expected to take several weeks or months.