An easyJet flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Manchester Airport less than an hour after taking off en route to Spain. The jet had to quickly turn around and return to the airport.
The EZY1877 flight, which was headed from Manchester to the Spanish city of Bilbao, took off just after 2.30pm, but had to return due to a bird strike that had happened during take-off. The plane was forced to divert and return to the Terminal One runway.
On return to the airport, fire crews were in place to meet the plane after landing and all of the passengers had to disembark. They were then able to board a replacement plane so they could continue their journey, which usually takes under two hours, the Manchester Evening News reports.
A ‘bird strike’, the reason for the swift landing, is described as a collision between a bird and an aircraft. Looking at the flight map on service Flightradar, the plane flew over Macclesfield before circling over the Peak District and then travelling north over Glossop and then heading back to Manchester Airport.
An easyJet spokesperson said: “ EasyJet can confirm that flight EZY1877 flying from Manchester to Bilbao returned from airborne due to a bird strike during take-off. The pilot returned to Manchester in line with our procedures and as a precaution only.
“All passengers disembarked normally and a replacement aircraft has been arranged to continue the journey to Bilbao. Whilst this is outside of our control, we would like to apologise for any inconvenience experienced and thank passengers for their patience and understanding.