Seven flights were diverted and at least 17 others were held in the skies over Manchester Airport after a man got onto the airfield. Police were called to the airport just after 11.20pm on Friday, August 21, following reports that the man had 'encroached' onto the airfield.
Incident lasted around 15 minutes
The incident lasted for around 15 minutes, a spokesperson for Manchester Airport said, before the man was taken to hospital from the scene. The Manchester Evening News understands the incident was mental health-related.
Flights diverted to other airports
Seven flights were diverted as a result of the incident to airports including Birmingham, Liverpool and East Midlands. Among the flights affected were a TUI flight from Boa Vista diverted to East Midlands, a Ryanair flight from Agadir diverted to Birmingham and an easyJet flight from Barcelona diverted to Liverpool.
Airport operations back to normal
The airport spokesperson confirmed the incident was resolved with flights now back to normal. A temporary fix has been put in place following the security breach.
