An easyJet flight declared a mid-air emergency over the North Sea this evening and returned to Manchester Airport. Flight EZY32GY from Manchester to Hamburg took off at 7.15pm, one hour and 15 minutes after its scheduled departure time, before making a U-turn as it headed towards Amsterdam.
Technical issue prompts return
An easyJet spokesperson said the flight returned to Manchester Airport due to "a technical issue with the aircraft" and that the plane was met by emergency services as a precaution. Passengers were able to disembark as normal but due to a curfew restriction for flights over Hamburg Airport the flight has been delayed overnight and so will leave tomorrow.
Emergency code squawked
Flightradar24 showed the path of the plane as it headed over the North Sea before returning after around 30 minutes. Pilots on the plane squawked 7700, which is the universal aviation transponder code used to signal a general in-flight emergency. The real-time aviation alert service Squawk wrote on X shortly after 8pm: "An AIRBUS A-320 (EZY32GY) is squawking 7700 — declaring an emergency at 34,000 ft near Amsterdam, Netherlands."
When a pilot enters the four-digit emergency code 7700 into their transponder, it immediately alerts air traffic control that the aircraft is in distress and requires priority handling. But the nature of the incident is unclear as it acts as a "catch-all" for any emergency situation that isn't a hijacking (7500) or radio failure (7600).
EasyJet apologises for disruption
EasyJet has since clarified that it was a technical problem and apologised to passengers for the disruption, reports Manchester Evening News. The full statement from easyJet read: "Flight EZY2195 from Manchester to Hamburg this evening returned to Manchester due to a technical issue with the aircraft. The aircraft was met by emergency services as a precaution only and customers disembarked normally."
"Due to Hamburg Airport's curfew restriction the flight was delayed overnight and will continue the journey on 24 September. We are very sorry for the inconvenience caused and did everything possible to minimise the impact of the delay. While we always look to secure hotel accommodation, as there was very limited availability, we advised customers they would be reimbursed for booking their own."
The statement added: "The safety of its passengers and crew is easyJet's highest priority and easyJet operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with all manufacturers’ guidelines."
