Ryanair issues statement after plane met by fire crews after diversion to Manchester Airport

The pilot diverted minutes into the journey due to a fault

Ryanair has issued a statement after a plane was met by fire crews after the pilot made a diversion to Manchester Airport on Sunday (March 16).

The flight, which took off shortly before 4pm, was bound for Agadir in Morocco. But just minutes into the flight, the pilot diverted due to a fault.

The flight path showed how the aircraft went north west over Wigan before circling nine times over the borough and landing back in Manchester around an hour later. The aircraft was met by airport fire crews on the runway after touching down at around 5pm.

The airline has now confirmed in a statement that the pilot was forced to divert due to a 'minor technical issue' and that passengers on board were offered seats on a replacement aircraft minutes later.

A spokesperson for Ryanair said: "This flight from Manchester to Agadir (Sun, 16 Mar) returned to Manchester shortly after take-off due to a minor technical issue. The aircraft landed normally at Manchester Airport and passengers disembarked.

"To minimize disruption to affected passengers, we quickly arranged for a replacement aircraft to operate this flight, which departed to Agadir at 17:05 local that same day. We sincerely apologize to affected passengers for any inconvenience caused."