A TUI flight to Cape Verde was diverted due to a "bird strike" shortly after taking off from Newcastle Airport this morning.
Flight TOM800 departed Newcastle International Airport at 9.38am on Tuesday morning, heading for Espargos Airport, the largest airport on the islands off the West African coast. However, after the suspected bird strike, it circled around Liverpool before landing at Manchester Airport.
Manchester Airport told ChronicleLive that passengers were able to disembark and use their departure lounge, and it is understood that there was some damage to the plane. A replacement aircraft took off from Manchester at 11.50am, meaning North East holidaymakers on board were expected to arrive at their destination shortly after 7pm on Tuesday evening.
It is the second time that TOM800 has been forced to make an emergency landing at Manchester Airport this year, after the Boeing 737 Max 8 was forced to abort its trip over half way on its journey to Cape Verde in February due to a technical glitch.
A TUI spokesperson said: "We’d like to apologise to customers on flight TOM800 which diverted to Manchester Airport as a precaution following a bird strike.
"Another TUI aircraft was sourced and the flight has now departed Manchester Airport and is on route to Sal, Cape Verde. We’d like to thank customers for their patience and understanding, and hope they enjoy their holiday."
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