Passengers furious as easyJet flight turns back to Manchester after ‘technical fault’

Passengers were audibly furious on Friday when their easyJet flight, bound for Prague, was forced to turn around after just 20 minutes due to a “technical fault.”

The plane made it as far as Blackburn before pilots made the decision to U-turn and land at its departure point, Manchester, on 10 September, due to what was believed to be an issue with the flaps on the aircraft’s wings.

One of the passengers, Natalie Dykes, 33, told the Manchester Evening News that passengers were informed the plane had to return to Manchester due to a "computer fault.”

Ms Dykes said that those onboard could hear a whirring noise when the jet was back on the tarmac.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News she said: "The noise was once we had landed, I think it was the engine.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever landed back at base without the holiday in between, but everyone onboard is in good spirits which has helped the situation for sure."

She said the pilot told passengers that the technical problem was “not unusual” and that they should “rest assured” that the fault had been resolved.

Shortly after 7.30pm, Ms Dykes shared video to Twitter of the moment the pilot spoke to passengers about taking off for the second time for Prague.

As he tells them that the technical issue is resolved and the aircraft may take off once more, loud shouts can be heard from several people onboard.

According to Ms Dykes, one passenger decided to leave the aircraft and not take off again, meaning that plane was further delayed as crew worked to make sure they had their luggage with them.

The captain warns passengers that the plane will be further delayed as special permission is needed to land in Prague after 10pm due to the city’s Noise Protection Zone, in place to limit the number of flights coming in and out of its airport between 10pm and 6am.

A spokerperson for easyJet told The Independent: “easyJet can confirm that flight EZY1801 from Manchester to Prague on 9 September returned to Manchester due to a technical issue.

“The aircraft landed normally in line with procedures and engineers attended the aircraft which continued to Prague as soon as the issue had been resolved. We did all possible to minimise the impact of the delay for our customers and apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

They added: “The safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority and easyJet operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with all manufacturers’ guidelines.”

In the US, passengers flying on an United Airlines flight in March had a shock when the pilot made a “terrifying” announcement about an explosion in the cargo hold.

Flight 2425 from Santa Ana, California to Houston, Texas was forced to divert to Austin where it landed safely at around 4pm on 11 March, following a “mechanical issue” that was detected on board, the airline confirmed.