British Airways jet diverts to Manchester as captain declares an emergency following reports of ‘smoke’ in the cabin
- The British Airways Embraer E190LR leftDublin airport almost 30 minutes late
- The pilot declared an emergency as a result of a technical issue near Liverpool
- The aircraft diverted to Manchester instead of continuing to London City
- British Airways said it was assisting its customers in continuing their journey
A British Airways jet was forced to divert to Manchester after the pilot alerted Air Traffic Control about reports of smoke in the cabin.
The Embraer E190LR was en-route between Dublin and London City when it turned off course while passing Wrexham. The aircraft was due to depart Dublin at 7.15pm but left the Irish capital at 7.40pm.
It landed at Manchester around 8.20pm, according to data from Flight Radar 24, after declaring an emergency near Liverpool.
Passengers on the flight, BA4473, will be transported onwards to London.
Engineers will inspect the aircraft to determine the cause of the technical issue.
The 8-year-old jet started this morning in Edinburgh, before flying to London and then Rome before returning to City Airport at 4.40pm. It then crossed the Irish Sea to Dublin before attempting to return to London.
According to British Airways: ‘The pilots decided to divert to Manchester as a precaution due to a technical issue, and the aircraft landed normally.
‘We’re assisting customers in the terminal and apologise for the disruption to their journey.’