A TUI flight from Manchester issued an 'emergency' alert this morning shortly after taking off. The flight - TOM5GM - has since been circling over the north west for more than two hours as it looks to return to Manchester Airport.
The plane sent a 7700 'Squawk' code signalling an emergency at 13,000ft shortly after taking off at 10.30am. The flight was heading to Cape Verde and had already been delayed before take-off.
The BOEING 767-300 sent the 7700 Squawk code, which immediately alerts Air Traffic Control to an aircraft in distress. This can indicate a technical or engineering issue with the aircraft, which is currently unknown.
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A Manchester Airport spokesman said they were aware of a 'flight that has decided to return to Manchester'. TUI have been approached for a statement. A flight tracking website appears to show the plane descending for landing at Manchester Airport.
This comes after another TUI flight had to turn back to Manchester for an emergency landing on Friday (June 24) night after passengers could smell 'smoke'. The flight, which was already 15 hours delayed, was flying over mainland Europe when it turned around for Manchester due to a 'technical fault'.
This left many onboard 'petrified' and the plane was greeted by fire engines after landing.
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