The TUI flight from from Manchester to Punta Cana International Airport in the Dominican Republic was forced to turn around shortly after takeoff due to a ‘minor technical matter’
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A TUI flight had to make an abrupt U-turn just after minutes after takeoff.
The TOM156 flight, which took to the skies at approximately 10.40am on Friday, was seen circling back towards Manchester shortly after departure.
It had been due to arrive in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic – but flight maps showed it barely made it past Oldham before the decision was made to return. TUI said the plane turned around due to a “minor technical matter” and confirmed that the plane landed back at the airport. Passengers were escorted off and found alternative flights.
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Image:
Flightradar24)
In a statement, a spokesperson for TUI said: “We can confirm that this morning (Friday 19 April) TOM156 departed Manchester Airport for Punta Cana International Airport but returned to departure airport shortly after take-off due to a minor technical matter.”
“Passengers have disembarked the plane and an alternative airplane will be sourced. We would like to apologise to our customers impacted by this incident. The safety of our customers and crew is always our main priority. We will do everything we can to have them away on their holiday as quickly as possible,” reports the Manchester Evening News.
Earlier this month, a TUI flight from Manchester Airport made an emergency landing at another UK airport in an unrelated incident. A TUI plane, reported to be a Boeing 737-800, declared an emergency after leaving the hub at 3.33pm. It issued a Squawk 7700 emergency code, which indicates a “serious issue onboard the aircraft” and made an unplanned landing at Exeter Airport in Devon at 4:17pm.
The plane landed safely. TUI confirmed it was a “repositioning flight”, where airlines move planes in their fleet from one airport to another without goods or passengers. The firm said the landing was sparked by a “technical issue” with the plane, which had no passengers onboard.
