Passengers on a Virgin Atlantic flight endured an eight-hour ordeal after their plane turned back to the UK despite nearly reaching North America.
Flight 3 was just 330 miles from the Canadian coast when it made a U-turn over the Atlantic Ocean.
The aircraft, which had been travelling from London Heathrow to New York’s JFK Airport, eventually landed in Manchester due to what the airline described as a “technical issue”.
The Airbus A350 departed from London on Thursday and had been in the air for nearly four hours when it turned around.
Virgin Atlantic plane along Manchester airport’s runway (Stock)
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Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 showed the aircraft squawked 7700 – an emergency signal – after making its U-turn.
The plane spent a total of eight hours in the air before finally touching down in Manchester.
Passengers were in the air for around eight hours aboard the transatlantic flight – and were only 300 miles away from North America – yet ended up back in the UK.
A spokesman for Manchester Airport confirmed to Business Insider they understood the aircraft had experienced a hydraulics issue.
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The flight was met by the airport fire service upon landing, which the spokesperson described as standard protocol for a technical issue.
They added this response was “very much precautionary in this instance”.
Manchester is Virgin Atlantic’s secondary hub after Heathrow Airport.
Images shared on social media revealed the aircraft landed with its landing-gear doors open, indicating a problem with the plane’s hydraulics.
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The flight had initially requested a priority landing at Heathrow, but this did not happen for reasons that have remained unclear.
Passengers were provided with overnight accommodation in Manchester following the incident, while the airline rebooked affected travellers on alternative flights scheduled for Friday.
A Virgin Atlantic spokesman said in a statement: “The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our top priority and our teams are working hard to ensure our customers can continue on their journey as soon as possible.”
The airline added: “We sincerely apologise for the delay and any inconvenience caused.”