EasyJet flight diverts to Manchester after declaring mid-air emergency
Flight EJU7835 from Amsterdam declared a mid-air emergency and was forced to divert to Manchester Airport after winds at Edinburgh were outside aircraft limits
An EasyJet A320, similar to that used for flight EJU7835.(Image: NurPhoto via Getty Images)
An easyJet flight was forced to declare a mid-air emergency after high winds prevented it from landing. Flight EJU7835, which departed Amsterdam Airport Schiphol at 6:15 am on Thursday, March 12, was scheduled to arrive at Edinburgh at 7:50 am but had to divert to Manchester Airport instead.
According to data from FlightRadar24, a flight tracking app, the Airbus A320 attempted to land at Edinburgh Airport before performing a ‘go-around’, a procedure where pilots abort a landing attempt and try again. However, due to the strong winds, the pilot was unable to land the plane safely and had to initiate an emergency procedure, squawking 7700.
The flight became the most tracked globally on FlightRadar24 before it landed safely at Manchester Airport at 8:20 am. easyJet attributed the diversion to winds at Edinburgh being “outside the limits of the aircraft” and has organized coach transfers for customers to return to Edinburgh.
Meanwhile, the Met Office had issued a yellow warning for winds of up to 70 mph in southern, central, eastern, and north-east Scotland.
Forecasters predicted gusts of 50-55 mph in many areas, with coastal regions and areas downwind of high ground potentially experiencing gusts of 60 mph or even 70 mph in some cases.
Despite this, no other flights were unable to land at Edinburgh Airport that morning, although the Met Office warned of potential delays to road, rail, ferry, and air transport, as well as possible short-term power outages and disruptions to other services due to the adverse weather conditions, reports the Daily Record.
An easyJet spokesperson stated: “Flight EJU7835 from Amsterdam to Edinburgh this morning was diverted to Manchester due to strong winds exceeding the aircraft’s limits, and we have arranged coach transfers to Edinburgh for our customers.
“The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is our top priority, and although this was beyond our control, we apologise for the inconvenience caused by the weather conditions.”
Declaring an emergency response by squawking 7700 indicates a general emergency, which can encompass various scenarios including technical or medical emergencies.
“This procedure enables air traffic controllers and ground crews to respond to the emergency in the most effective way possible.
