A Jet2 flight was met by firefighters on the runway after an emergency landing on its way back from Spain.
The flight to Fuerteventura from Newcastle, made the diversion due to a “minor” technical issue on board the aircraft it is understood, and the flight, which had been due to land in the Canary Islands at 2.10pm, was delayed taking off at Newcastle due to today’s heavy snow.
Newcastle and Manchester Airports were among several UK hubs impacted by the wintry weather with flights delayed both to and from the bases. Snow had to be cleared off runways there and, last night, at Bristol Airport, where operations were suspended for a short while.
After the Fuerteventura left Newcastle, a problem was encountered and it had to land at Manchester. Firefighters rushed to the plane, thought to be common practice in landings of this nature. It is believed all the passengers and crew have been confirmed safe and transferred onto a new plane to complete their journey, reports the Mirror.
Shocking images 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, which was in 2022 the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passengers.
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.
Runways had to be cleared of snow at most UK airports today, particularly in the north. Planes also had to be de-iced to ensure they were safe for travel as temperatures plunged to – 11C overnight.
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.
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