An easyJet flight from Bristol Airport was forced to return and make an emergency landing due to a technical issue on board on Friday evening.
The Airbus aircraft bound to Newcastle on the evening of March 4 after less than an hour in the air before pilots diverted back with the plane landing successfully on its first attempt. Flight 572 was scheduled to land in Newcastle at 8.53pm having taken off 40 minutes late, making it as far as Manchester before it made a u-turn due to a "technical issue".
Bristol Live approached easyJet for comment on the nature of the emergency, and a spokesperson issued the following statement: “easyJet can confirm that flight EZY572 from Bristol to Newcastle was diverted back to Bristol due to a technical issue. The aircraft landed routinely and passengers disembarked as normal.
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"Unfortunately, due to the delay causing the estimated flight arrival time in Newcastle to be outside of the airport curfew, the flight was delayed overnight and it has been rescheduled to depart for Newcastle today, 5 March. easyJet did everything possible to minimise the disruption for our passengers, providing hotel rooms and meals where required.
The airline company added the safety of its passengers and crew is easyJet's highest priority. The flight touched down back at Bristol Airport at 8.55pm.
Flight maps reveal the aircraft was closer to Newcastle Aiport when the technical issue was identified, however, the easyJet flight diverted back to Bristol. They were also closer to Manchester, Birmingham and East Midlands airports.
The time it takes for an aircraft to descend from its cruising altitude could have been a factor in why the flight diverted back to its original take-off point.
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