A TUI flight from the UK to the Greek islands had to divert to make an emergency landing after a birdstrike during takeoff. Flight TOM6624 from Bournemouth to Rhodes took off at 3.04pm on Saturday and was due to land in Rhodes.
But the plane was put into an emergency holding pattern over the airport after take-off while the pilots waited for instructions. The flight, heavy with passengers bound for Greece, circled the airport for some time before being diverted to Gatwick for an engineering inspection.
TUI confirmed there had been a problem with the Boeing 737, issuing a statement that said: "We can confirm flight TOM6624 unfortunately reported a bird strike shortly after take off from Bournemouth. The aircraft therefore had to divert to Gatwick Airport for an engineering inspection, reports DorsetLive.
"We have a team on the ground supporting impacted customers as we work to get them back on their way as soon as possible."
Several people spoke of their concern for the flight on Twitter, having spotted the aircraft circling over the county for some time.
Alecos Bamptinopolous wrote: "@FlightEmergency any news on TUI flight BY6624 callsign TOM5G, circling since take-off from Bournemouth BOH over an hour ago, definitely doesn't sound right."
Steve Smith on Twitter said: "This is strange. This one will be some sort of technical issue, but I would have expected it to have landed where it started. Going by its track, I wonder if they are looking for somewhere with a longer runway to attempt a landing. No emergency squawk, so who knows".
The flight was scheduled to arrive in Rhodes at 8.55pm on Saturday night. The flight left Gatwick just before 10.30pm and landed in Rhodes at 3.45am on Sunday.
