An emergency was declared by an easyJet flight approaching Manchester Airport. Passengers were on a short journey from Amsterdam when the flight crew on the Airbus A320-200 alerted mid-air, leading to the plane circling in a holding pattern. The pilot of easyJet flight U22164 from Schiphol Airport changed course towards Manchester Airport, circling to the north of the city, as reported by flight trackers.
Approximately one hour after takeoff, the flight crew declared an emergency as the plane was preparing for descent into Manchester, according to Air Live. A squawk code of 7700 was issued to signal an onboard emergency, prioritizing the aircraft’s landing with emergency services ready on the ground. This code is a general emergency signal that does not specify the exact issue onboard, serving as a broad alert for any emergency situation apart from hijacking or radio failure.
Following the emergency alert, the plane was directed onto the approach path and landed safely on Runway 05R at Manchester Airport without further incidents. The landing occurred at 3:05 pm, 45 minutes later than the scheduled arrival time of 2:20 pm. An easyJet spokesperson informed The Mirror that a priority landing was requested due to a “technical issue.”
The airline’s statement mentioned, “Flight EZY2164 from Amsterdam to Manchester requested priority landing on arrival into Manchester on 15 July due to a technical issue. As a precaution and standard operating procedure, the aircraft landed normally, and passengers disembarked as usual. The safety of our customers and crew is always easyJet’s top priority.”
Earlier this month, a significant number of UK flights experienced delays due to an issue at the UK’s air traffic control. On July 7, widespread disruption affected UK airspace when the Met Office’s issue prevented the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) from receiving crucial weather information.
As a consequence, Ryanair faced delays in 155 flights, affecting nearly 30,000 passengers with delays up to three hours. EasyJet was more severely impacted, with 253 delayed flights, representing 13% of its total planned departures that day.
“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,” stated a NATS spokesperson at the time. “Some air traffic restrictions were implemented early in the morning due to this issue, but they have since been lifted. We are collaborating with the Met Office to resolve the problem completely.”
