A Manchester-bound flight was forced to make an emergency landing at East Midlands Airport due to a fuel crisis.
A Singapore Airlines flight, travelling from Changi Airport on Wednesday, transmitted a "7700" code to air traffic control - for a general emergency - while in the air after two failed attempts to land at the Manchester Airport, according to aviation website Flightradar24's post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
After making two attempts to land at MAN, #SIA52 from Singapore is squawking 7700, indicating a general emergency. Follow here. https://t.co/HzU22fDRbE pic.twitter.com/UK3B7XnjEG
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) January 24, 2024
A 7700 code "gives the pilot the responsibility to do essentially anything to ensure the safety of those onboard, regardless of the rules." says flightradar. It also "notifies all nearby ATCs in the surrounding areas of the situation with the flight".
It was reportedly a fuel emergency, which would have meant the crew making a Mayday distress call. In a fuel emergency, an aircraft only has enough in its "minimum" fuel supply left to land at the nearest suitable airport without any further changes in routing or delays. The minimum fuel level is the minimum required fuel on board, which includes fuel for the trip, contingency fuel and final reserve fuel.
Having departed from Changi Airport at 2:33 AM on Wednesday, the Singapore Airlines flight SQ52 was due to land in Manchester at 8.35 AM UK time. But it was in the air for an hour and twenty-seven minutes longer than expected. The Singapore Airlines plane, which had been in the air for over 14 hours since its departure from Changi Airport, eventually landed in East Midlands at 10:02 AM.
The first time the Airbus A350 aircraft tried to land in Manchester, it failed and diverted north over the Midlands and Peak District before making a left turn towards Manchester Airport. After the second attempt failed too, the plane headed back south over Cheshire, Stoke-on-Trent and across the East Midlands over Nottingham before making a 180-degree turn to head towards East Midlands Airport, according to reports in the local media.
Last week, Storm Isha caused havoc across the UK and Ireland, resulting in dozens of flight diversions and cancellations. It also saw thousands of airline passengers landing in the wrong destination or even in the wrong country.
Travelling to and from Ireland and the UK became a hassle as airports in both countries were badly hit by the storm, with winds carving across the runways at 90 mph.
Among the airlines, Ryanair was especially affected since its base is in Dublin. A Ryanair flight from Spain's Lanzarote in the Canary Islands to Dublin did make it to the Irish capital but turned around and diverted to Bordeaux, France, without attempting to land.
Another Ryanair plane landed in the wrong destination. Flight FR555, flying from Manchester to Dublin, came close to landing but eventually was diverted 500 miles to Paris, where the calmer weather made touching the tarmac possible.
