Two TUI flights sent out emergency alerts this morning as they were diverted over UK airspace. The diversions were picked up by live flight tracker Flightrader24 and both planes were diverted to Birmingham.
The flight tracker site picked up two diversions that were commenced after the pilots indicated a "general emergency", Yorkshire Live reports. It is not yet clear why the planes diverted, or what the emergency was and TUI has been contacted for more information.
The TUI flight BY245 had been returning to Bristol, from Espargos, Sal, Cape Verde, when it was diverted to Birmingham. The pilot had transmitted an emergency code 7700 while flying northwest of Gloucester.
TUI Airways flight BY255, also from Espargos and bound for East Midlands Airport, was also diverted to Birmingham after transmitting the same emergency code.
The TUI flight from the Cape Verde islands was coming in to land at Bristol Airport just after 6am today (June 8) when it suddenly aborted the landing and climbed again, before diverting to Birmingham Airport instead. Data from the FlightRadar website showed the Boeing 787 Dreamliner had descended to just 825ft off the ground as it crossed over the A38 road next to the airport at Luslgate, before aborting the landing attempt and heading back up towards Weston-super-Mare.
The TUI flight was packed with passengers from Espargos, the main airport on the Cape Verde Islands. The flight had been supposed to take off from the islands off the West African coast at 8.55pm last night, Tuesday, but the flight was delayed and did not take off until after midnight instead.
It was due to land at 6.10am but eventually touched down safely at Birmingham Airport at 6.43am. As the plane's pilots charted a course to Birmingham, having turned north over Bristol, they transmitted a '7700' general emergency code to air traffic controllers, indicating there was a problem on board.
Plane spotters in the Bristol area reported noticing the plane had been in difficulty first thing this morning. "It didn't sound healthy as she flew over Portishead," wrote one on social media. "That sure was loud and odd sounding over Clevedon". It is not yet clear why the planes diverted, or what the emergency was and TUI has been contacted for more information
The issues with the plane have had a knock-on effect to other passengers and flights from Bristol Airport. The Boeing Dreamliner - the biggest passenger jet to use Bristol Airport - was due to be the flight from Bristol to Melbourne in Florida later this morning, but that flight is now delayed.
UK travellers have faced more delays today following a strike by Italian aviation workers is causing more misery for UK travellers. Dozens of flights between the UK and Italy were cancelled on Wednesday, with easyJet, Ryanair and British Airways among the airlines affected.
EasyJet axed 20 Gatwick flights, including departures to Bologna, Milan, Naples, Rome and Venice. Some 14 flights between London airports and Milan were cancelled by British Airways, while Ryanair scrapped a handful of flights between Italy and Stansted.
Pilots and flight attendants who are members of two Italian unions are conducting a strike from 10am until 2pm over various issues including pay, sick pay, time off and refreshments.
One of the unions, the Italian Union of Transport Workers (UILT), has warned that if an agreement is not reached, “this will be only the first of a series of protest actions”.
EasyJet and British Airways continued to cancel flights to and from other locations other than Italy due to staff shortages. In recent months, many passengers whose flights have gone ahead reported being stuck in airport queues for several hours.
