A passenger flight was forced to make an emergency diversion after suffering a bird strike shortly after take-off.
The Boeing 737 flight – operated by holiday giant TUI – was flying from Cardiff Airport to Cyprus but had to touch down less than an hour after taking off.
After climbing to around 3,000ft and circling Swansea Bay, the plane headed towards the West Midlands to land at Birmingham Airport, where it landed safely.
The plane was met by fire crews and emergency vehicles before passengers were able to disembark on Sunday.
A Tui spokesperson said: ‘To confirm, there was no engine failure. There was a bird strike after take-off, and the diversion that followed was a precautionary routine procedure.’
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A Birmingham Airport spokesperson said: ‘Birmingham Airport accepted an inbound TUI divert. In line with normal procedures, the airport’s Fire Service met the aircraft on arrival. The aircraft landed safely and taxied to the apron.’
A spokesperson for Cardiff Airport said: ‘We are aware of an incident involving flight TOM6754 from Cardiff to Paphos.
‘The safety of our passengers is our number one priority. The aircraft diverted to Birmingham Airport (BHX) and landed safely.’
Earlier this year, a flight carrying 227 passengers was forced to declare a mid-air emergency after its nose cone was torn apart.
Halfway into the IndiGo journey from Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi to Srinagar, the Airbus A321 was battered by a violent hailstorm.
What began as a routine flight quickly turned into a nightmare as the plane began rattling due to severe turbulence.
It was at this point that a flock of birds struck the jet, leaving a large hole in the nose and endangering those on board.
Pilots reported the emergency to air traffic control at Srinagar, making a narrow escape.
Owais Maqbool, who claimed to be one of the passengers, described the flight as a ‘near-death experience’, adding that it was a ‘miracle’ that the plane managed to land.
He wrote on X: ‘There was panic and people were screaming. Everyone was scared.’
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