A TUI flight had to make an abrupt U-turn – just minutes after take-off. The TOM156 flight left Manchester Airport for the Dominican Republic at 10.40am yesterday.
But it landed back in Manchester soon after due to a ‘minor technical matter’. Passengers were escorted off and found alternative flights.
In a statement, a spokesperson for TUI said: “We can confirm TOM156 departed Manchester Airport for Punta Cana International Airport but returned to the departure airport shortly after take-off due to a minor technical matter. We would like to apologise to our customers impacted by this incident. The safety of our customers and crew is always our main priority.”
A TUI plane from Manchester suddenly diverted and returned to the airport two hours into the flight on Thursday afternoon (August 29).
The TOM718 flight, to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, departed at around 2.25pm, bound for the sunny holiday hotspot in the north of Africa.
Flight paths show how the aircraft cruised at around 35,000 before turning around and diverting back to Manchester around two hours into the journey.
According to FlightRadar24, the plane turned over Switzerland, almost half way into the journey, before flying back at a much lower altitude of around 10,000 feet for the rest of the journey.
A passenger on board, who confirmed the plane was ‘flying low’ all the way back to Manchester, said passengers were told there had been a ‘technical issue’. She said customers were told another flight would be facilitated to Egypt on Thursday night.
On social media, she said it had been a ‘five hour round trip back to Manchester’.
“I’m not sure what was wrong with it but we had to fly low all the way back,” she said. “I was taking pics outside my window. [The pilot] just said it was a technical issue.”
This has been reported online as being due to an issue with the pressure on board the aircraft, however Tui has not yet explained the reason for the diversion.
The plane then landed back in Manchester at around 7.30pm on Thursday evening (August 29). Further details about the incident have not been confirmed.