Virgin and Qantas passengers are facing a lengthy delay for flights out of Geraldton after unset tarmac from airport extension works stuck to the wheels of two planes when they landed at the city's regional airport.

The Qantas and Virgin planes — both Fokker 100s — were due to take off from the Geraldton Airport bound for Perth about 8.30am, but were grounded after debris was found on their wheels.

The tarmac issue grounded a Virgin and Qantas flight. Credit:Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg

A City of Greater Geraldton spokeswoman said the city had been carrying out runway extension works at the airport and the tarmac had not set properly due to cooler-than-expected weather on Wednesday night.

She said smaller aircraft had been coming and going all morning and were unaffected by the tarmac, and the airport had since been reopened.