Second Flybe plane diverted in space of three days

A FLYBE flight from Manchester to Belfast had to be diverted to Glasgow — the second incident involving the airline since the weekend.

Service BE480 had been bound for George Best Belfast City Airport around 4pm yesterday, but was diverted to Glasgow Prestwick after a technical problem was reported.

The Q400 aircraft landed safely without incident, Flybe said.

A statement from the airline said: “Flybe can confirm that the captain took the recommended action following a suspected technical fault en-route from Manchester to Belfast City Airport and, as an additional precautionary measure, elected to divert to Glasgow Prestwick Airport.

“The aircraft landed safely without incident.”

The airport put its emergency vehicles on standby. All 78 passengers disembarked as normal when the aircraft landed.

The statement added: “All passengers will be re-accommodated on a replacement aircraft that is currently re-positioning to Glasgow Prestwick so they can complete their travel without further undue delay.

“The safety of its passengers and crew is the airline’s number one priority and Flybe sincerely apologises for any inconvenience experienced.”

On Sunday, the Connacht rugby team’s flight from Birmingham to Knock in the west of Ireland, following a European cup tie. was diverted due to a technical problem.

The flight declared a full emergency and diverted to Belfast International.

No-one was injured.

The plane in the weekend emergency at Aldergrove was a Bombardier Q400 turboprop, which is part-built in Belfast.

The model has been plagued by technical issues for years.

In November a Q400 carried out an emergency landing at Belfast International after the nose gear failed.