Boeing 737: Tui Max 8 plane from Newcastle to Cape Verde forced to land at Manchester Airport due to 'technical glitch'

A Tui plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Manchester Airport due to a technical problem. The Boeing 737 Max 8, which carries up to 210 passengers, departed from Newcastle Airport at 9.39am yesterday (Monday 20 February) for Cape Verde but the captain had to abort the flight near Spain, over the Bay of Biscay and return to the UK.

A video captured from the scene showed the airport's fire engines following the jet moments after it touched down. It is understood the original aircraft developed a problem with its de-icing equipment and is now being examined by engineers. 

The airline has apologised to passengers and offered a £100 holiday voucher “in light of this disruption to the start of their holiday”. Passengers on board flight TOM800 were disembarked once the plane arrived at the terminal and were later boarded onto a replacement aircraft which set off for Sal, Cape Verde at 2.30pm.

A spokesman for Manchester Airport confirmed the emergency landing took place due to a “technical issue”, telling the Manchester Evening News “the fire engines look dramatic but they're just standard procedure when a plane returns due to a technical issue as a precaution."

A Tui spokesperson said: "We'd like to apologise to customers on TOM800 from Newcastle to Sal, Cape Verde who were required to divert to Manchester to change planes due to a minor technical issue. Our goal is to ensure our customers have the best possible flight experience, so this is not way we wanted their holiday to start.

"We have offered them a gesture of goodwill in light of this disruption to the start of their holiday and thank them for their patience and understanding. The flight departed Manchester for Sal, Cape Verde at 2.30pm today." 

The incident involving a Boeing plane comes as the company is under intense scrutiny after a door panel on a different kind of aircraft, a 737 Max 9, blew off during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. Earlier this month, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration pledged to use more people to monitor aircraft manufacturing and hold Boeing accountable for any safety rule violations.