EasyJet flights: Plane circles in air over West Midlands before forced to divert to Manchester Airport

An easyJet flight, from Belfast to Birmingham, was circling in the air and diverted to Manchester Airport on Wednesday morning (10 January). The aircraft landed in Manchester shortly before 8.30am after circling over the West Midlands.

The plane was later refuelled and departed from Manchester back to its original destination of Birmingham around 30 minutes later. The airline has apologised for any inconvenience caused to passengers by the disruption.

The incident occurred due to the runway at Birmingham Airport being temporarily closed. It is understood that the closure was caused by the requirement to de-ice the runway amid plummeting temperatures.

A spokesperson for the airline said: “easyJet can confirm that due to the temporary runway closure at Birmingham Airport earlier today, flight EZY025 from Belfast to Birmingham diverted to Manchester. The aircraft refuelled and departed once the airport reopened. Whilst this was outside of our control, we apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused by the disruption.”

It comes amid the safety of aircraft being scrutinised and spotlighted after the Alaska Airlines incident last Friday (5 January). The flight had to make an emergency landing after its emergency door blew out shortly after take-off. The jet in question, the Boeing 737 Max 9, is also used by United Airlines and the fleet has been grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for safety checks. 

Both airlines revealed that they found loose bolts inside several other door plugs on their Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircrafts. The FAA said the aircraft would remain grounded until it finds each can safely return to operation.