A TUI flight issued an 'emergency' alert shortly after taking off and spent more than two hours circling in the sky before returning to the airport. The flight, TOM5GM, had issued the 7700 'Squawk' code at 13,000ft shortly after its 10.30am take off from Manchester Airport on Monday (June 27).
The plane, a Boeing 767-300 had been heading to Cape Verde and had already been delayed when it issued the code. This code immediately alerts Air Traffic Control, ManchesterEveningNews reports.
This can indicate a technical or engineering issue with the aircraft, which is currently unknown. A flight tracking website appears to show the plane descending for landing at Manchester Airport after spending more than two hours circling around the North West of England.
A Manchester Airport spokesman said they were aware of a 'flight that has decided to return to Manchester'. TUI have been approached for a statement.
This comes after another TUI flight had to turn back to Manchester for an emergency landing on Friday (June 24) night after passengers could smell 'smoke'. The flight, which was already 15 hours delayed, was flying over mainland Europe when it turned around for Manchester due to a 'technical fault'.
