Terrified passengers heading towards Aberdeen were taken back to Manchester Airport after lightning caused the plane’s windshield to crack.
Reports on flight tracking sites show that flight LM26 was forced to turn around on the spot following the strike. The plane was travelling from Manchester at around 4.30pm this afternoon, and was around half an hour into its journey to Aberdeen when it turned around.
As reported by the Mirror, trackers show the plane flying northwards before looping in the skies above Skipton and returning back to its departure point at around 5pm. The Embraer ERJ 145EU plane reportedly climbed to 16,000 ft before pilots squawked the emergency code 7700 and decided to turn back. The return to Manchester Airport came roughly 29 minutes after take-off.
A spokesperson for Loganair said: “Loganair can confirm flight LM26 from Manchester to Aberdeen was diverted back to Manchester following a lightning strike. The aircraft landed as normal and our team is currently arranging onward travel for customers to reach their final destination. The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is of the utmost importance to us at Loganair. We thank our customers for their patience and understanding, and our ground crews for their assistance.”
Loganair representatives had previously warned that some flights could be disrupted following yellow weather warnings for wind and rain issued by the Met Office. The warnings are in place for much of the country until the coming weekend, December 8, and warn of widespread travel disruption to road, rail and air.
In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, earlier today, the airline’s social media team said that passengers taking flights from airports affected by the bad weather would have the opportunity to “adjust travel plans without charge”. They said: “In view of the yellow weather warning forecast for the 5th, 6th and 7th December across parts of the UK and Isle of Man; we are offering customers that may be affected the opportunity to adjust travel plans without charge.”
Airports affected on December 5 and 6, the airline said, include those on the Isle of Man, Liverpool, Manchester, City of Derry Airport, Campbeltown, Islay and Tiree. On December 7, they include Southampton, London Heathrow, Birmingham, Isle of Man, Manchester, Islay, City of Derry Airport and Newcastle.
The Met Office warning for today, which covers Manchester, states that wind speeds could reach near gale-force level, around 60 to 70mph. The warning states: “Westerly or northwesterly winds will increase during Thursday afternoon and evening. Inland gusts of 40 to 50 mph are possible, with perhaps 60 to 70mph along exposed coasts, especially through the North Channel and Irish Sea, causing some travel disruption. Strong gusts will also be associated with heavy, squally bursts of rain in places.”
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