A flight from Newcastle to Fuerteventura was forced to reroute and make an emergency landing at Manchester airport today due to a “minor” technical issue on board the flight
Fire crews have rushed to surround a Jet2 plane this afternoon following an emergency landing at Manchester airport.
The flight from Newcastle to Fuerteventura made the diversion due to a “minor” technical issue on board. The flight was due to land in the Canary Islands at 2.10pm but was delayed taking off at Newcastle due to today’s heavy snow.
A number of UK airports and transport hubs were impacted by the snowy weather, with flights delayed both to and from Manchester and Newcastle. Operations had to be suspended for a short period at Bristol Airport last night to clear snow off the runways.
After the Fuerteventura flight left Newcastle, a problem was spotted, and it was forced to land at Manchester. Firefighters rushed to the plane, but this is thought to be common practice in landings of this nature.
It is currently believed that all passengers and crew have been confirmed safe and transferred onto a new plane to complete their journey to the island.
Manchester Airport told the Daily Star: “It was en route from Newcastle to Fuertaventura and reported a minor technical issue so landed in Manchester. It’s protocol for emergency services to attend – in this case there wasn’t a real concern they’d be needed but they had to be there.”
Photos sent to Manchester Evening News show a fire engine move towards the Jet2 plane following the landing. Snow is still seen on the ground but, by this time, all operations had resumed at Manchester Airport.
According to the flight path, as seen on Flightradar, the aircraft can be seen circling over the north west, including parts of Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and Cheshire before eventually being able to land. Jet2 has been approached for a statement on the incident.
In 2022, Manchester was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passengers.
Flights across the UK have been disrupted by the snowy conditions.
A Singapore Airlines flight diverted from Manchester Airport to Gatwick twice today due to difficult landing conditions. Flights to the UK hub, around seven miles from Manchester city centre, were diverted today, including planes from Paris, Dublin and Glasgow.
And the Singapore Airlines flight SQ52, which left Changi Airport at 2.13am local time, was due to arrive in Manchester at 9.25am, but this flight was re-routed to London and landed at Gatwick Airport at 9.48am instead.
Birmingham Airport, meanwhile, had suspended operations for several hours overnight “for snow clearing and safety reasons”, but said it was on schedule for “business as usual” on Sunday.
The Daily Star has contacted Jet2 and Manchester Airport for a comment.
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