An easyJet flight to Newcastle has returned to Belfast International Airport following a “technical issue” on-board the aircraft.
According to an online tracker, the EZY72CN flight, which was scheduled for take-off at 10pm, returned to Belfast after circling to several times to the north-east, above Whitehead.
The Flightradar24 site posted to X (formerly Twitter), that the aircraft was “squawking 7700″ - an aviation code which indicates an emergency on-board the aircraft.
This can include technical, environmental, or medical issues.
The flight had been due to land in Newcastle shortly before 11am.
A spokesperson for easyJet told the Irish News that the flight “returned to Belfast shortly after take-off as a precaution due to a technical issue, and performed a routine landing in line with standard operating procedures”.
They added: “All passengers disembarked normally into the terminal and a replacement aircraft has been arranged for passengers to continue their journey to Newcastle today.
“The safety of our customers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority and easyJet operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with all manufacturers’ guidelines. We would like to apologise to customers for the delay and inconvenience caused.”
