An easyJet flight from Amsterdam to Manchester declared a mid-air emergency on 15 July 2026, prompting the aircraft to circle in a holding pattern before safely landing at Manchester Airport.
Emergency Declaration and Flight Details
Flight U22164, an Airbus A320-200 operating from Amsterdam Schiphol to Manchester, issued a squawk code 7700 approximately one hour after takeoff as it prepared to descend. The code alerts air traffic control to a general emergency, giving the aircraft priority for landing and mobilizing emergency services. It does not indicate a specific issue, unlike codes 7500 (hijacking) or 7600 (radio failure).
According to flight tracking data, the aircraft deviated from its normal approach path, circling north of Manchester before being routed directly onto the approach for Runway 05R. It touched down safely at 3:05 pm, 45 minutes behind its scheduled arrival of 2:20 pm.
No Confirmed Cause
The nature of the emergency has not been disclosed. The Mirror has contacted easyJet for comment but has not yet received a response. Passengers were making the short trip from Amsterdam when the incident occurred.
Recent Air Traffic Control Issues
The incident follows widespread disruption on 7 July 2026, when a Met Office technical issue prevented the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) from receiving weather data. This led to 253 easyJet flights being delayed (13% of its daily departures) and 155 Ryanair flights delayed, affecting nearly 30,000 passengers. A NATS spokesperson said: "A Met Office technical issue overnight meant that we were not receiving vital weather information into our NATS systems this morning. Accurate weather information is vital for air traffic controllers and pilots in managing flights safely. As a result, some air traffic restrictions were put in place early this morning and these have now been removed."
