A Jet2 flight bound for the UK was forced to turn back because of a “technical issue”, with a woman reporting a loud bang and “vomiting” passengers.
The plane left Antalya Airport in Turkey shortly after 11.45pm on Tuesday on its way to Manchester International Airport. But an hour and a half later, the flight had to turn around.
A woman on the flight told Manchester Evening News that shortly after take-off there was a “loud bang”, then a “burning/chemical smell”.
“Lots of people [were] scared,” she added. “Quite a few passengers were vomiting.
“People sat near left wing looking out of window, vomiting and unable to put feet on floor. Hardly any info given which made it worse.”
Flight maps showed the plane heading back to the airport soon after departure.
A spokesperson for Jet2 apologised on Wednesday for the disruption to passengers’ journeys and said a technical issue was behind the diversion.
“Flight LS1702 from Antalya to Manchester followed standard procedure and returned to Antalya Airport yesterday, due to a technical issue,” they said.
“The aircraft landed safely and we arranged for all customers to be provided with hotel accommodation overnight.
“We will be flying customers back to Manchester Airport today [Wednesday]. We would of course like to apologise for the delay to their travel plans.”
Turkey has become an increasingly popular holiday destination among British tourists.
The country’s Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehment Nuri Ersoy, recently announced that almost 1.8 million UK tourists visited in the first six months of this year.
It marked a sizeable 19% increase on the same period in 2023, Birmingham Live reports.
