The pilots of an easyJet flight to Edinburgh declared an emergency as the aircraft diverted to Manchester.
An easyJet flight has declared a mid-air emergency on route to Edinburgh Airport. Flight EJU7835 departed Amsterdam Airport Schiphol shortly before 6.15am on Thursday, March 12.
The Airbus A320 was due to arrive at Edinburgh at around 7.50am but was forced to divert to Manchester Airport. Data from flight tracking app FlightRadar24 appears to show the plane attempting to land at Edinburgh Airport before performing a ‘go-around’ – a procedure where pilots abort a landing attempt, turn around and try again.
It then turns south and heads towards Manchester before the pilot initiated an emergency procedure known as squawking 7700. The flight was the most tracked globally on FlightRadar24 before it landed at Manchester Airport at around 8.20am.
easyJet have been contacted for comment. It is currently unknown if the flight was affected by the weather after the Met Office issued a yellow warning for winds of up to 70 mph in southern, central, eastern and north east Scotland. Forecasters said in Scotland and England, gusts of 50-55mph are expected widely, while some coastal areas and places downwind of high ground could see gusts of 60mph or even 70mph in a few places.
They warned of potential delays to road, rail, ferry and air transport and said there may be some short-term loss of power and other services. However, no other flights have been unable to land at Edinburgh this morning.
Emergency response squawking 7700 means a general emergency has been declared. It can cover a range of scenarios including a technical or medical emergency. The procedure allows air traffic controllers and ground crews to respond to the emergency in the most effective manner.
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