Manchester Airport: Fire crews surround Jet2 flight after plane emergency lands due to 'minor' technical issue

It is understood that the flight, to Fuerteventura from Newcastle, made the diversion to Manchester Airport on Sunday (5 January) due to a 'minor' technical issue on board the aircraft. The flight, which had been due to land in the Canary Islands at 2.10pm, was delayed taking off.

The international airport in Newcastle was among others across the UK, including in Manchester, which had been hit by delays due to heavy snow overnight. The Jet2 flight eventually took off at around 12.42pm, according to the airline's website, before diverting and making the emergency landing shortly after 3pm.

In pictures taken from the runway, multiple airport fire engines and vehicles could be seen meeting the aircraft. It is understood this is common practise in landings of this nature. According to the flight path, as seen on Flightradar, the aircraft can be seen circling over the north west, including parts of Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and Cheshire before eventually being able to land.

All passengers were reportedly safe and were later transferred onto a new plane to continue their journey to Fuerteventura. Manchester Airport was shut this morning (Monday 6 January) for the second time due to heavy snow. It has since re-opened but warned of flight delays. It came after the airport closed briefly in the early hours of Sunday morning due to the weather.