Storm Dudley wielded it’s power yesterday afternoon as the plane transporting Manchester City back to the UK was forced to abandon its landing.
Footage of the plane swaying in the gale force winds was posted online as the aircraft made its approach to Manchester airport.
However, the pilot was forced to make a last-minute decision to divert the plane to nearby Liverpool airport after the ferocious storm raged across the country.
The Titan Airways flight departed the Portuguese capital at around 2.12pm on Wednesday afternoon following the Champions League fixture against Sporting Lisbon the previous evening.
Information from tracking app FlightRadar shows the plane circled over Manchester three times before diverting to Liverpool John Lennon Airport, 30 miles away, report Mirror Online.
Man City took to Twitter writing: “We can confirm the plane transporting the first team home from Lisbon has landed safely in Liverpool after high winds forced a diversion from Manchester.”
In a comedic response on Wednesday afternoon, Liverpool Airport went on to welcome the team to the “football capital of England”.
They wrote: “Great to safely welcome Manchester City to the football capital of England this afternoon after their flight was diverted from their home airport due to high winds.”
The worst of the storm is expected to hit between 2pm to midnight, with a yellow weather warning covering large swathes of England.
Storm Dudley will be followed by a second named storm, Storm Eunice, on Friday, which could be even more damaging, with stronger winds and the chance of heavy snow.
There have been stark warnings that it could be one of the worst tempests in 30 years, with winds of up to 100mph possible in parts of the UK.
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