A Ryanair passenger plane was forced to declare an emergency and make an unscheduled landing after running dangerously low on fuel in mid-air. The Boeing 737-800 aircraft, operating flight FR5448 from Seville, Spain, to Nantes, France, encountered severe disruption when the runway at Nantes Atlantique Airport was suddenly closed due to debris from a damaged jet engine.
Flight details and diversion
Ryanair flight FR5448 departed Seville at 5:25pm local time (4:25pm UK time) on July 6, bound for Nantes. The flight proceeded normally until the final approach, scheduled for around 7:10pm local time. At the last minute, the crew aborted the landing after reports of a runway blockage caused by an engine failure on a departing flight to Madrid. The aircraft had suffered an engine failure during full thrust shortly after takeoff, likely due to debris from a burst tire, and returned to land, prompting a runway inspection.
The pilots executed a go-around, climbing back to 7,000 feet and entering a holding pattern at 4,000 feet. As the runway remained closed, fuel reserves dwindled, forcing the captain to declare a fuel emergency. The crew initiated an emergency climb to 20,000 feet and received priority vectoring from air traffic control to Brest airport on the far western tip of the Brittany peninsula. The plane touched down safely at Brest exactly 2 hours and 40 minutes after its initial departure from Seville.
Impact and response
The runway closure at Nantes Atlantique Airport caused significant disruption, with all arriving flights diverted to neighbouring airports. Experts inspected the tarmac for debris from the damaged jet engine, completing the inspection at around 10:30pm local time, after flight operations had been suspended for four hours. Debris was found on the runway, and air traffic resumed at approximately 11pm local time.
In a statement to the Mirror, Ryanair said: "This flight from Seville to Nantes (6 Jul) diverted to Brest following the unexpected closure of Nantes Airport's runway. As a result of the diversion, the flight crew requested priority handling into Brest to facilitate a timely arrival. The aircraft landed safely with fuel levels remaining above final reserve fuel and in compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements." Passengers remained onboard and departed for Nantes at 23:10 local time.
